


A Power Like Life Itself

by BenSolo717



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, post-tros reylo
Genre: Angst, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is alive, Canon Compliant, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Ghost(s), Force Visions, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Post-TROS Reylo - Freeform, Pregnancy, Pregnant Rey (Star Wars), Protective Ben Solo, Redeemed Ben Solo, Resurrection, Rey Needs A Hug, Tros fix-it, kylo ren is dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:02:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 27,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23278288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BenSolo717/pseuds/BenSolo717
Summary: Rey has begun her new life on Tattooine, isolating herself from the rest of the Resistance due to a lack of them understanding her, Ben returns to her through the power of the bond that they share, transcending even death itself, weeks go by and Rey starts to feel ill, meanwhile Ben's form begins to change.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Reylo
Comments: 38
Kudos: 86
Collections: #CelebrateBenSolo - A Ben Solo Fan Event





	1. Alone Again

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing any kind of fanfiction, I will try to update weekly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey begins her new life alone once more, but things change when a very spectral Ben Solo appears to her.

_The life force of your bond, a dyad in the Force, a power like life itself, unseen for generations-_ Emperor Palpatine at _The Battle of Exegol_ 35 ABY

As the sun began setting on _Tattooine; Rey_ took a moment to reflect on all that had happened in the past year, finally getting off of _Jakku_ , meeting _Finn_ and _Poe_ , as well as the rest of the _Resistance_ , meeting _Han Solo,_ learning that the Force was indeed an actual thing that exists, finding out that _Luke Skywalker_ was not just a legend that she had heard about and how he became her mentor for a short time, as well as meeting his sister; _General Leia Organa_ , who helped her train up until the very end of the war, when she herself became one with the Force and finally meeting someone who understood her, someone who just so happened to be linked to her through the Force itself, the one who had saved her life; _Ben Solo._ That had all been leading up to this moment, but what was it all for, she had been through so much, but she was alone again, alone on a desert planet with no family, the thing that she craved more than anything. 

_The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead,_ the words spoken to her by _Maz Kanata_ on _Takodana,_ these words seemed hollow and empty at this point, Rey had vanquished the _Sith_ and defeated her grandfather; _Emperor Palpatine._ But it all had come at a great cost, had she never died after defeating Palpatine, Ben would have never had to give her the last of his life force and he would still be there beside her. But what happened to Ben, she had seen him disappear right before her very eyes, leaving only his sweater. _This can't be the end, it just can't_ Rey thought to herself, her thoughts ever since _Exegol_ had been more about Ben than anything else. He was her bondmate, the two of them were said to be a dyad in the Force, two that are one, one soul living inside two separate bodies, how was she alive if he was gone, had he become a part of her, does he live in her now? The endless questions that Rey had were beginning to get to her, all that she had gone through only to end up alone on a desert planet again, Poe Dameron was kind enough to allow her to have his droid now that the war had ended, the one who she had met on Jakku that led her to the Resistance, _BB-8_. 

As nightfall came at last, Rey decided to head back to the old _Lars Homestead_ , BB-8 following behind her. "It's getting late, BB-8, we should be getting inside." Tattooine was so much like Jakku that it didn't take long for Rey to make herself feel at home, for once she had nothing planned for her future, now that the war was over, she could do as she pleased. Once inside the Lars Homestead, Rey looked around the place, trying to get comfortable with it, it didn't bear much resemblance to her AT-AT home on Jakku. She reached into her satchel that she carries wherever she goes and pulled out the little doll that she had made back at her old home, placing it near where she'll sleep while on Tattooine. Although she didn't mind the desert, she had missed the lush green island surrounded by water; _Ahch-To_.

That night while Rey tried to fall asleep, she couldn't stop thinking about that vision that she had when herself and Ben touched hands, what did it mean, could it still come true, is Ben still out there? Rey knew better than to hold onto hope at this point, her parents had never come back for her, why would Ben be any different, he had gotten himself killed so that she could live, but why hadn't he appeared to her when she accepted the _Skywalker_ name? She knew in her heart that she wasn't a true Skywalker, she was a Palpatine, and she always would be. As Rey began to shut her eyes to fall asleep, she was awoken by a blue glow that eventually turned into the figure of a man, the features became more and more distinctive as the spectre manifested itself in front of her, it was none other than him, _Ben._

 _"Rey"_ Ben spoke to her. 

"Ben, Ben is it really you?" Rey responded with a look of shock. 

"Yes, Rey, it is me." Rey couldn't believe that she was seeing Ben for the first time since Exegol, when he disappeared and faded away into the Force. She was haunted by his memory, his touch, she longed to have the opportunity to even just touch him.

"What happened to you, I thought that I would never see you again?" Rey asked as a tear ran down the side of her face. 

"Rey, I gave you the last of my life force so that you could live." Ben responded in a bit of a somber tone in his voice. 

"Why, Ben, why did you do it?" Rey asked, still crying. 

"I couldn't bear the thought of living in a world without you, if I died knowing that you would be able to live your life as you pleased, then it was worth it." Ben replied. 

"I'd rather have you here with me, Ben, I don't enjoy being alone." 

"Rey, my darling, please don't cry, I will always be with you, if you find someone who you want to share a life with, I wouldn't be mad, I would be happy for you. I will love you no matter what, Rey." 

"But, Ben, I don't want anyone else, I want you. I love you." Rey responded, she wasn't ready to just move on to someone else, deep in her soul she knew that Ben was the only one for her, the only one that truly felt like home to her. 

"I'm sorry, Rey, I truly am, but please, don't mourn me, it's not what I want for you, I want you to live a long and happy life." 

"I should have never left Jakku, had I known that I would be back in isolation and heartbroken, I would have never left." She said, knowing that she chose to isolate herself from everyone else with the intention of living the rest of her life alone, the events of Exegol had scarred her emotionally. 

"But you're not alone, I'll always be watching over you, now please, Rey, don't hold onto a ghost, don't hold onto me like you did your parents for so long." 

"No, Ben, I'm not giving up on you." Rey said as she reached out to touch Ben's cheek, to her surprise, he was solid! 

"What is this, how are you able to touch me?" Ben asked curiously.

"I don't know, is this the Force doing something? I thought it was impossible to touch a ghost." Rey responded. Rey then wrapped her arms around Ben tightly.

"How is this happening?" Ben asked. 

"Our bond must transcend even death, I've never seen anything like this before." Rey said. 

"Rey, you don't think that we could….ummm…. you know…" Ben asked in a slightly nervous tone in his voice. 

"Make a family? Ben, I've wanted a family all my life, for so long I have been alone, truth be told, I never asked for anything of what has happened to me over the past year, I only wanted a family" Rey said as she looked into his eyes with a sense of longing, she knew what she wanted and she was going to get it. 

"I suppose that is one way to put it, I've been lonely all my life as well, Rey. But when I found you, I knew that there was something special about you, I loved you from the moment I saw you for the very first time. You're the only one for me" Ben said as he hugged her tightly, showering her with kisses, an absolute blessing from the Force itself that the both of them were able to be reunited. The two of them felt very much at home in each other's presence, Rey had been feeling empty after the loss of Ben, as if part of her had actually been missing, but now that Ben had come back to her, she felt loved, more than she had ever felt before, likewise, Ben himself had felt lost and lonely without his soulmate, when the two of them finally came together once more it was as if time had stood still, the swirling emotions that they were feeling in this moment was their love for each other, no fear, no anger, only love. Through the power of their bond, they made love through the Force that night, they were both completely blown away at what they were able to do despite the fact that Ben was dead, or so they both thought.

"I love you so much, Ben, when I'm with you it's as if the world doesn't exist, I feel like I'm at home when you're here" Rey said as she caressed the side of his face.

"I feel the same way about you, Rey, I love you more than life itself" Ben said as he kissed Rey one last time before disappearing. After Ben disappeared once more, Rey began to wonder, how did he appear to her, is he alive, is he dead, why was she able to touch him, why were they able to have intercourse, is it part of their dyad Force bond? That night, Rey slept peacefully, dreaming of a future that she wanted to have with Ben. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moodboard made by ReyReySolo


	2. The Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey begins to feel ill and Ben's form begins to change, are the two connected, or is there something more?

2 weeks after their last encounter, Rey awoke one morning feeling sick to her stomach, was it the food that she had eaten the night before, did she overeat? She was eating far more than she had ever been able to on Jakku, she no longer looked like she was malnourished like she did when she was still just a scavenger, but she still looked thin and athletic. Ben appeared to her once more, just as he did that night that she had finally settled in on Tattooine, he knew that she wasn't feeling well.

"Rey, sweetheart, is everything alright?" Rey walked towards him, as she approached him she noticed that he wasn't as transparent as he was before, he was gaining his color back. 

_"_ I'm not feeling well, Ben, I've been feeling very queasy, anything that I eat just makes me sick." Rey sat down next to Ben, who comforted her by massaging and rubbing her belly in an attempt to hopefully calm her upset stomach.

"You're going to be alright, Rey, it's probably just something that you ate last night at dinner, probably just food poisoning." Rey had hoped that was all it was, but deep down she knew that there was more to what was happening to herself; her increased appetite, her feelings of nausea, it was all beginning to add up, but what didn't add up was what was happening to Ben. 

"Ben, how come you're looking more like yourself, you're starting to look less and less like a Force ghost?" Rey asked, curious as to what was happening to Ben. 

"I'm not entirely sure, something is definitely happening though, I'm starting to feel more 'normal' for lack of a better term." 

"You're gaining your color back, Ben, the blue glow is beginning to disappear." Rey told him as she began to ponder what was actually happening to the two of them, she was feeling sick and he was beginning to become more and more lifelike, she could already touch him but now he was starting to look more like the Ben that she knew and loved. Ben looked on the wall of the Lars Homestead and saw Roman numeral markings on it.

"Rey, what are these all about?" Rey's eyes began to fill with tears. "I'm sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have asked." 

"No, Ben, it's alright, you have the right to know. The tally marks on the wall have been the number of days since you died." 

"Rey, sweetheart, please don't cry, I'm here with you now and I always will be." Ben said, reassuring her that she's no longer alone as he kissed her forehead.

"I know you are, but it doesn't change the fact that you died in front of me, and that the family that I saw in my visions can never become a reality due to you no longer being alive." 

"I'm sorry, Rey." Ben took a moment to observe all of the unusual things that had been going on with Rey lately; the increased appetite, the nausea, both of which being symptoms of pregnancy, could it be, could the night that the two of them made love through the Force actually caused the creation of new life inside Rey, could she really be pregnant? Ben knew to never underestimate the power of the Force, after all, if it had not been for the Force, Rey would not be sitting next to him now. He thought back to that moment on Exegol, in which he had held her lifeless body, refusing to believe that she had died, it was the scariest moment of his entire life, the very thought of losing her scared him to death. 

"You've been a little quiet, is everything alright?" Rey asked. 

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about all that has happened up until this point." Ben responded. 

Rey closed her eyes, taking a moment to meditate, reaching out with her feelings through the Force until she noticed something different about herself, she was able to sense her own Force signature and in addition to her own she sensed a very faint one, which she thought was Ben's from when he gave the last of his life force for her but this signature was foreign, yet familiar to her, it was comprised of both their Force signatures, what Rey was sensing was her unborn child, she was pregnant and she couldn't wait to tell Ben the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artist credit: Khatia1996


	3. Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey learns that she is pregnant, excited to tell Ben, he worries that he won't be there to raise their child together but Rey feels otherwise.

When she opened her eyes, Ben was still there, his transparent figure still sitting next to her, she feared that he would disappear again. 

"Did you find anything through your meditation exercise, Rey?" Rey smiled at him and maintained eye contact with him, bringing his hand to her belly, she told him her exciting news.

"I did find something actually." Rey said as she began to cry again. 

"There's no need to cry, I'm right here." 

"Ben, I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm happy and I'm sure that you will be too when you hear what I'm about to tell you."

"What is it, Rey?" 

"Ben, I'm pregnant." Ben was in utter shock and amazement in response to hearing Rey's news, but beyond all that, he was happy, happier than he had ever been before, he hugged her and kissed her. But then the sad truth began to set in, that his child would never know its father, Ben sighed. "What's wrong, I thought that you were happy?" Rey asked, confused.

"Our child will never know its father…" Ben said as he cried on Rey's shoulder, she put her fingers underneath his chin, making him look up at her, their eyes met in a gaze.

"Ben, I don't believe that to be true, while at the moment you may still be a Force ghost, I have hope that you will return to life one day, your blue glow has already completely disappeared, and your transparent form is becoming more whole by the day. Ben, before she passed, Leia told me that nothing was impossible, and with all that has happened to us recently, I believe her, I really do, us having sex through the Force shouldn't have done anything, but it did and I'm pregnant as a result, and if that can happen, then I believe that you will be able to come back to life one day." Rey began to wonder if Ben's ghostly form changing had something to do with her pregnancy, could the two processes be connected somehow, could it be the power of the dyad itself?

"Please don't be sad, Ben, this is a joyous occasion, we're going to have a family of our own!" Rey said as she smiled at him, but Ben just sat there in deep thought, wondering to himself how his spirit and Rey were able to create a child, it just didn't add up, she was alive and he was dead, this shouldn't have been able to happen, something more was happening. Ben looked down at his hands, though still transparent due to him being a Force ghost, they no longer glowed as bright as they had in the past 2 weeks, they were beginning to dim. 

"Rey, I need to ask you something." 

"Of course, Ben, what is it that you need to ask me?" Rey responded. 

"Rey, I've been thinking about something lately, you mentioned before that my form was changing, do you think that you being pregnant might have something to do with this?" 

"I've been wondering the exact same thing, the day that I started feeling the effects of morning sickness, your ghost began to change, I know that this might sound crazy, but Ben…" Ben looked Rey right in the eyes, the two of them met in a gaze once more. 

"Yes, Rey?" 

"Ben, I think that you may be slowly coming back to life, I don't know why or how this is happening, but you are looking more and more like yourself as the days go by." Rey responded to him, trying to make sense of what was happening between the two of them, was Ben really coming back to life, what is the correlation between Rey's pregnancy and Ben's ghost? 

"But how is that possible, I became one with the Force, there is no known way of coming back from being a Force ghost." Ben responded to her, confused.

"Perhaps this is something special that has never happened before, remember Ben, we have a _dyad Force connection_ , so it's not just any ordinary connection."

"I suppose you're right, maybe my mother was right, nothing really is impossible, I do know one thing for sure."

"What's that, Ben?" 

"That I will never leave you, Rey and I mean it." Ben said as he put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "Even if you can't see me, I'll be there." Ben said as he began to fade away again.

A few weeks have gone by, Ben has appeared to Rey almost every single day. As Rey began to start showing, Ben discovered that he was unable to fade away anymore. One morning, Ben appeared to a sleeping Rey, he couldn't take his eyes off of her, his beloved, beautiful Rey, sound asleep. Suddenly, Rey began talking in her sleep, she was absolutely terrified at whatever it was that was happening in her dream.

"No, please, come back!"

Ben moved to comfort her; "I'm here, sweetheart." Ben said as he placed his hand on her arm, Rey awoke in a panic, the very first thing that she saw was Ben, then the tears fell from her eyes as she threw herself into his arms.

"Oh Ben, it was horrible, I had a dream of what happened on Exegol, when you…." Rey couldn't bring it upon herself to finish her sentence. 

_"Died?"_ Ben said, finishing her sentence. Rey sighed.

"Yes, I don't even want to think about it anymore, I don't know what I would do if you vanished again, Ben." 

"Everything is going to be alright, Rey." Ben said as he caressed her cheek, she met him in a gaze once more and brought her hands to his cheeks, her lips to his and kissed him just like she had done before on that terrible night on Exegol. 

"I'm not going to allow death to keep you from me, Ben, if this doesn't work, I'll find another way to bring you back, even if I have to turn to the _dark side_ to get you back." Rey was hell-bent on bringing her soulmate back to life, even going as far as going to the dark side to revive him. 

"Don't go to the dark side, Rey, I know that you love me but don't let it cloud your judgement, the dark side is a path of pain and suffering and I don't want that to ever happen to you, have faith that this is going to work and if it doesn't, you know that I will always be with you." Ben said as he held her in his arms, to her surprise, he never faded away again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artist credit: Khatia1996


	4. Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey are shown a vision of what their child will look like.

Several more weeks have gone by, Rey has begun to show even more, there was no doubt about it, she was definitely pregnant. 

"I look as round as a _BB unit._ " Rey said as she sighed.

"Nonsense, Rey, you're beautiful." Ben said as he stood behind her, putting his hand on her swollen belly. 

"You really think that I'm still beautiful, even like this, Ben?" Rey asked, genuinely wondering if Ben still found her to be beautiful even when she was clearly unhappy with her appearance. 

"Of course I still find you beautiful, Rey, more beautiful now than ever, honestly, you're carrying our child and you're absolutely glowing while doing so. I would never lie to you, Rey, I find you beautiful no matter what you look like, because no matter what, you'll always be the Rey that I fell in love with." 

"Thank you, Ben, I've just been feeling down lately, probably a side effect of the pregnancy, I'm glad that you're here with me." Rey said as she placed her hand over his, the two of them connected through their bond, both being shown a vision of what their child would look like, a _girl_ , who looked almost exactly like Rey, but she had Ben's brown eyes as well as his black hair. 

"What was that?" Ben asked.

"The Force must want us to see our baby, this reminds me of that night that we touched hands on _Ahch-To_ , I was shown a vision of a possible future with you, Ben, it was us as a family, and our little girl is exactly what I saw in that vision when we touched hands." Rey's eyes began to fill with tears of joy once more, she was overjoyed to find that her vision that she witnessed was going to come true. 

Rey walked over to her satchel that she would carry around wherever she would go, she opened it up and pulled something out of it, it was a _black sweater_ , the very same black sweater that was left behind when Ben had disappeared, the hole still in the spot where it had been. Rey proceeded to put his sweater on, it was almost big enough to be a gown for her, but as big as it was, it didn't hide her baby bump completely. In addition to putting on Ben's sweater, Rey finally decided to remove her buns from her hair, allowing it to hang down in a similar fashion to what it had looked like when she had gone to meet with Ben on the _Supremacy_. She walked back over to Ben; "well, how do I look?" Rey asked him, curious as to what he thought of her new look. 

"You let your hair down?" Ben asked.

"Yes, I did, I remembered how much you liked it when I let it down when I came to you aboard the Supremacy , so I decided to let it down again. I know I denied it before, but Ben, when I let my hair down before, it was for you."

"It looks very nice like that, Rey." 

"Thank you, Ben." Rey responded, smiling at him. 

"You kept my sweater, from when I…. _disappeared_?" Ben asked, surprised. 

"I had to, I was so hurt by your death that I wanted something of yours that I could hold onto whenever I felt sad." Rey replied. 

"Well I'm here now, so can I have it back?" Ben asked jokingly. 

"Nope, this is too nice and warm for me to just let you have it back." Rey responded as she continued smiling at him. 

"But it looks huge on you." 

"So? It will keep me warm when it gets cold." 

"On a desert planet like _Tattooine_?" 

"It gets cold at night, you wouldn't know, you're a ghost, plus after a lifetime of wearing my scavenger clothes, it's nice to wear something a little more comfortable."

"I'm only joking, Rey, you can have it….at least until I come back to life completely." Ben said, smiling at her. 

"Well my clothes don't fit me quite like they used to, or did you forget that I'm _pregnant_ , Ben?" She said, smiling back at him. 

"How could I forget, you and our child are the only things that I care about at this point." Ben said as he caressed the side of her face.

"Plus I like wearing it because it hides the fact that I'm as big as a small moon, oh!" Rey said as she felt a kick as she rubbed her belly. 

"What is it, Rey?" 

"It's our daughter, she's a little more active than usual today."

"I can't wait to meet her, I can't believe that me and you are going to be parents." Ben said, thinking about the vision that he and Rey had seen of their daughter that they would have. 

"I can't wait to meet her either, all my life I thought that I would be alone on _Jakku_ , but then you came into my life and changed everything for the better, for too long I've longed for my family, I had hoped that they would return but they never did, I thought that my belonging was with the _Resistance_ , but I know now that my belonging is with _you_ , you and _her_ , I just want to thank you, Ben, thank you for being there for me when no one else was, thank you for giving me this beautiful angel that we will have soon." 

"You're welcome, Rey." Ben said as he kissed her on the cheek. 

Night had fallen on the _Lars Homestead_ , Rey had been making small repairs to BB-8; "do you like it here, BB-8?" BB-8 chirped happily as if to say " _yes_." Rey had been given BB-8 to help her not feel so lonely at her new home but she wasn't alone anymore, now that she knew that Ben was with her. 

"There's something that you should know about that BB unit that you have, Rey, as a child, before I turned to the dark side, I built him." 

"You're the one that made _BB-8_?" Rey asked, surprised. 

"Yes, I built him while I lived with Luke." 

"BB-8 is partially responsible for us meeting, did you know that, Ben?" 

"Yes, when I was part of a raid on Jakku as Kylo Ren , BB-8 was the one that contained the information that I required, the map to Luke, but when I stepped foot on that planet, I felt something through the Force that I couldn't describe, a pull to the light unlike anything I had ever felt before, and now I know that what I felt, was _you_." Ben replied. 

Rey began to feel tired, yawning; "fixing droids is hard work, I think I need some sleep." 

"Do you want me to carry you to your bed, Rey?" Ben asked. 

"I would greatly appreciate that." Rey replied. Ben proceeded to pick Rey up, the last time that he had carried her like this it was when they first met on _Takodana_. He carried her to her bed, gently placing her down. "Thank you, Ben." 

"You're welcome, Rey." Ben said as he helped her get tucked in. 

"Aren't you going to come sleep with me, Ben?" 

"I'm a _ghost_ , I don't really need to sleep."

"Well, you could still lay down with me." Rey replied, hoping that Ben would lay down with her. 

"I won't fall asleep but I guess I'll lay down with you." 

"Good night, Ben, I love you." Rey said as she closed her eyes to fall asleep. 

"I love you too, Rey, goodnight." Ben said as he kissed her on her forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artist credit: Khatia1996


	5. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a nightmare that makes her worry about the future, Ben becomes protective over their daughter.

As Rey slept she began to have a dream, and in the dream she found herself standing in front of a massive structure, the throne from _Exegol_. 

"Welcome back, my grandchild." Said a familiar voice. 

"No, it can't be!" Rey yelled out. 

Lightning flashes across the sky, illuminating the throne, on it she saw the figure of him; _Emperor Palpatine_ . 

"You thought that you could destroy me, I have become more powerful than you could have ever imagined, draining the life force of your bond has granted me powers beyond even my own understanding." 

"How did you come back?" 

"Through the power of this planet, a power greater than any _Jedi_ , a vergence in the Force itself."

"I'll defeat you, just like I did last time!"

"Ah, but this time you're all alone, without any help from the Jedi of the past." Palpatine said, mockingly. 

"Be with me, please, be with me." Rey chanted, trying to connect to the Jedi of the past once more. Palpatine laughed at her attempt to call them forth. 

"Do you understand now, that you are truly alone with no one to help you? It's just you and me." Suddenly, Rey noticed that the Emperor was holding something small, it was her _daughter_! 

"Please, don't hurt her, please don't!" Rey pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"I have no intentions of harming her, she will be what you should have been; _Empress Palpatine_." Rey's dream changed at one point, she saw her daughter, she looked exactly like her, next to the Emperor. 

Rey approached her, tears in her eyes; "this isn't who you are." Rey spoke to her. 

"Yes, it is, I'm sorry, mother." She ignited her red lightsaber and struck her mother through the chest, in that instance, the dream ended and Rey awoke, crying, never having been so scared in her life. Ben moved to comfort her;

"What's wrong, Rey?" 

"Ben, I just had this horrible nightmare, I was on Exegol again and Palpatine was alive, I was all alone against him and….and…." 

"What, Rey?" 

"He had our daughter with him, I've never been so scared before, Ben." Rey said, crying. Ben pulled her into his arms, hugging her, trying to make her feel better.

"Everything will be fine, Rey, it's just you, me and her." Just to be sure that everything was alright, Ben placed his hand on Rey's belly, trying to sense any dark entities that may be trying to manipulate their daughter, just as it had happened with him.

"What are you doing, Ben?" Rey asked. 

"I'm checking to make sure that she doesn't go through the same thing that I did. Since before I was even born, I had been manipulated and tortured by Palpatine , he is responsible for all of the torment that I experienced in life. I don't want our little girl to have to go through her life hearing voices in her head, I only want the best for her, my mother was able to sense the darkness hurting me but she was unable to do anything about it. Rey, I don't want you to have to go through the same thing that my mother did."

The thought of something hurting her daughter frightened Rey immensely, she had thought that her baby was safe inside her belly but learning that it had happened to Ben and Leia made her both sad and frightened that it could possibly happen again. 

"Please tell me that she's alright, Ben, I can't bear the thought of someone hurting our baby. She's so innocent and pure, I don't think that I would be able to handle it if it turned out that Palpatine did come back and targeted her." Rey said with tears in her eyes, she placed her hand on top of her belly, hoping that would do something. 

To Ben's surprise, he didn't find anything remotely evil, just a little baby girl sleeping peacefully inside her mother. "So did you find anything, Ben?" Rey asked, slightly nervous to hear Ben's reply.

"I didn't find anything other than our little girl sleeping peacefully." Ben replied, smiling at her. "She's safe." Ben said, feeling relieved. "You can go back to sleep, Rey, she's alright." 

Rey let out a sigh of relief; "I don't want anything to happen to her, ever, she's all I have now. Why did I have to come from this accursed bloodline, why did I have to be a _Palpatine_?!" Rey said as she caressed her belly, worried about the well-being of her unborn daughter, she had rid herself of her family name but she knew that she could never rid herself of her bloodline. 

"Don't forget, Rey, she won't just be a Palpatine , she will also be a _Skywalker_ as well as a _Solo_ , you're nothing like your grandfather, he was pure evil to the core, he was the one who seduced my grandfather to the dark side. You on the other hand are pure and light, you manage to see the good in everything, including me, everyone had given up on me, but you never did, you believed that I could still be saved, and as a result I was able to join the Force, and thanks to the will of the Force itself, I was able to return to you, you are the reason that my redemption was possible, you allowed me to return to the light."

"I'm just worried about her, you told me that Palpatine had manipulated you since you were in Leia's womb, I'm just scared that the same thing is going to happen to her and that I won't be able to protect her." Rey said as she sighed. 

"Rey, Palpatine is dead, as are his Sith loyalists, so he can't come back." Ben said as he gently took Rey's hand and kissed it.

"I know he is, I'm sorry, Ben, it's just that my emotions have been out of whack lately." 

"I know, sweetheart, your emotions have been out of whack because you're pregnant. You just need to rest, Rey, you've been overworking yourself, you deserve some sleep." Ben said as he helped Rey get more comfortable in her bed. 

"Will you please stay here with me, Ben? I know that you don't need to sleep but I like it when you're with me." 

"Of course I will, Rey, I would do anything for you." After Rey had fallen asleep, she began to dream once more, this time she was on a lush, green planet, sitting in a field, holding her daughter. 

"She looks so much like her mother." A voice said from behind Rey, it was Ben and he had been made whole again.

"Ben, you're alive?!" Rey said with tears in her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, it was Ben, her beloved Ben, he had come back to life. 

"Yes, I am, Rey. The Force has given me a second chance, after a life of nothing but pain and misery, I was able to come back for the one that I loved most, you." Ben said as he kissed Rey on her lips.

"Would you like to hold her?" Rey asked. 

"Of course I would." Ben replied. Rey handed her baby over to Ben, who gently held her, rocking her back and forth slowly. "She's so…. perfect, so pure." Ben said as he teared up slightly, the former supreme leader of the First Order had become a father, he never imagined that he would be sitting here, holding a child of his own, a child that he had made with the woman that he loves more than anything. 

"She has your eyes, Ben." Rey said.

"And she has your hair, Rey." Ben responded. Before Rey could get the chance to ask him what they should name their daughter, the dream ended. Rey woke up the next morning, thinking of the dream that she had the night before.

"Good morning, Ben." 

"Good morning, Rey." Ben responded. 

"Ben, I had a dream last night…" 

"It wasn't another nightmare, was it?" Ben asked, concerned. 

"Quite the opposite, actually, I had a dream of a beautiful green planet, I was sitting on the grass, holding our daughter, you were there too, Ben and you were alive!" Hearing Rey describe her dream brought Ben to tears. "Are you crying, Ben?" Rey asked.

"It's nothing…" Ben responded. 

"It's alright, Ben, what I saw in that dream made me cry too. This dream was identical to the vision that I saw when we touched hands, us, together with our daughter, she was so beautiful, so _pure_." 

"Just like her mother." Ben said as he rested his hand on Rey's belly. 

"I really do appreciate you taking care of me during this time, Ben." Rey said as she placed her hand over Ben's. 

"Like I said before, Rey, I would do anything for you."


	6. Back to the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey begins to doubt that she's ready to become a mother, she decides that it's time to pay her friends of the Resistance a visit after so long.

Rey struggles to get up from her bed due to her slightly swollen abdomen. _My belly gets a little bigger and suddenly I have trouble getting up, great..._ she thought to herself. 

Ben assists her in getting out of her bed, bringing her to her feet. "I want to go for a hike today, Ben, I want to try to get some exercise." Rey tries to put on her boots that she had worn for so long but she finds that she has trouble getting them on. _Oh great... now my boots don't fit?!_ Rey said angrily.

"Rey it's because you're…"

Rey cuts him off; "I know, it's because I'm _pregnant_. Sometimes I wonder if this is even worth it, none of my clothes fit, I'm sick all the time, my emotions are completely out of whack….maybe I'm not ready to be a mother." Rey said as she sighed.

"You're going to be a great mother, Rey, I know that this won't be easy, but it will all be worth it when our little angel is brought into the world." 

"I feel so ugly, I hate it so much." Rey said, crying. 

"You're not ugly, Rey. If anything, you're more beautiful than you've ever been, you're carrying our child and that to me is truly beautiful. So please, don't beat yourself up about this, think about her, she wouldn't want you to be sad and neither do I."

"I'm sorry, Ben…I guess I'm just nervous about becoming a mother, that I won't be good enough."

"You're going to be an excellent mother, you're so caring and protective of those that you care about, that's exactly the way that you'll want to be with her." Ben said to her, reassuring her that she is good enough. 

"Oh Ben, what did I do to deserve you? You treat me like no one ever has before, you understand me, and you're always there for me."

"It's because I love you, Rey." Ben responded, smiling as he gave Rey a tight hug. 

_"_ And I love you too, Ben." Rey began to pack up some of her possessions and load them onto the Falcon. 

"What are you doing, Rey?" 

_"_ I've decided that I've had enough of living in the desert, I've lived in the desert for nearly my entire life, it's time for a change of scenery. _"_ Rey responded. 

_"_ Where did you have in mind, Rey?" 

"I was thinking about going to a place that is a little more green and full of life, possibly, _Naboo ?"_

 _"_ That's the place where my grandmother and grandfather got married, it's also the birthplace of your grandfather." Ben responded. 

"It is? Oh! Well it seems like someone is happy!" Rey said as she felt a kick and rubbed her belly, she discovered that she was able to feel her daughter's emotions, and at the moment she was very happy. Ben knelt down and hugged Rey's waist, laying his head on her abdomen, meanwhile, Rey ran her fingers through Ben's hair. For once, the three of them were connected, with nothing to worry about, no First Order, no Resistance, no Palpatine, nothing. _"_ Ben, this might sound a little crazy but I think I might share a _bond_ with our daughter."

 _"_ I know, you literally carry her inside you." Ben responded. 

"No, Ben, I mean I have a _Force_ _bond_ with her, I can feel her emotions among other things."

Ben looked surprised; "but how? Is it anything like our own Force bond?" 

"Not exactly, I can't see her but I can feel her and know when she's happy, sad, or just asleep."

"And what emotion is she feeling right now?" Ben asked. 

"From what I can tell, she's happy, when she's happy, that emotion will reflect on me, and when she's upset, that will reflect on me as well." Rey said as she explained the bond that herself and her unborn child share to Ben. 

"Then I guess we need to keep her happy." Ben said as he stood back up and gently grabbed hold of Rey's hand. 

"I can only hope that you'll be alive again in time for her to be born." 

"I plan to be, Rey, my darling." Ben said, kissing her on her cheek. 

"Ow! She must have heard you, Ben, because she just kicked really hard. There, there, my sweet little girl, it's alright, papa will be here to see you when you're finally here." Rey said as she rubbed her belly, trying to keep her child calm. 

"Ben, I've been thinking about going to visit my friends from the Resistance, I haven't seen them since the war ended and I miss them." Rey wondered how Ben would react, if he were still Kylo Ren , his reaction would have probably involved a lightsaber and something being destroyed, but this was Ben, the man that she saw inside the shell that was _Kylo Ren_ , which had finally been shed. "Ben?" She awaited his response.

"That's fine, Rey, but I'm coming with you."

"You're not mad, Ben?" Rey asked, surprised. 

"Not at all, Rey, although I did at one time despise the _Resistance_ , I've come to accept that they are your friends and that they care about you." 

"I never thought that I would hear those come out of the mouth of the former _supreme leader of the First Order_." Rey said. 

"I've changed, Rey. Although I am wondering, how do you plan on explaining to them that you're pregnant?" 

"I was thinking about telling them the truth, Ben, about how you saved me on Exegol, how you returned to me on Tattooine and how you're the father of my baby." Rey could see the uneasiness in Ben's eyes. 

"I'm not sure that you should mention me, Rey, just tell them that you found someone on Tattooine." 

"No, Ben, I love you and I don't care what they think, you matter to me. You _died_ for me, they deserve to know that you sacrificed yourself to save me, if it weren't for you, I would have struck Palpatine down and he would have taken possession of my body. You saved the galaxy, you're a hero, Ben." Rey's words touched Ben, he couldn't believe that she was going to tell her friends the truth about everything, how he was the one who had saved her and in turn, saved the galaxy. "I am not ashamed of the fact that I love you, Ben, if they can't handle that, then so be it."

Rey pulled out the communicator from her satchel that she had kept from her time in the Resistance, she sent them a message telling them that she was going to come visit soon. 

Meanwhile back at the Resistance base Poe, Finn and Rose receive Rey's message. "Rey is coming to visit after all this time?" Rose asked.

"I guess so, it's a little strange that we haven't heard from her since after Exegol, I wonder why she hasn't contacted us since then." Poe responded. 

"Maybe she found a place to live on her own, it's just a shame that she's alone again." Finn said. 

"But she's not alone, we're her new family, and she can visit any time she chooses." Rose said. 

Maz Kanata overhears the commotion that Rey is coming back to visit the Resistance; "She has found the belonging that she has sought for so long, nearly her entire life." Maz said. 

"I know, it's the reason that she's coming _home_." Poe responded. 

"No, there's more to it, Rey has found the one who she wants to be with." Maz said, she knew that Rey would be returning but that there would be someone with her when she does. 

"What is that supposed to mean, are you saying that Rey found someone and has been living with them all this time?" Finn asked.

"Yes, when she returns, there will be someone with her, someone familiar." Maz responded, smiling. 

"Do you have any idea who she's talking about?" Poe asked Finn. 

"I have no idea." Finn replied.

"Well we do know one thing, Rey has found someone who she connects with." Rose said. 

"I thought maybe it would have been someone from the Resistance, but I guess I was wrong." Poe said. 

Meanwhile back on Tattooine , Rey is getting the last of her stuff packed up onto the Falcon. "Oh!" Rey loses her balance on the ramp to the ship, but Ben manages to catch her before she can fall. 

"Careful, Rey." Ben told her as he caught her. "Are you alright, Rey?" Ben asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, Ben."

"Is there anything else that needs to be packed up still?" Ben asked. 

"That should be the last of it." Rey responded as she climbed the ramp to the Falcon, holding Ben's hand as they made their way to the cockpit. 

"Where are we going, Rey?" 

" _Ajan Kloss_ , it's the planet that the Resistance base is located on." Rey replied. 

"I wonder if they'll be able to see me, and if they can, what will they say?" 

"You have nothing to worry about, Ben. If they try to start something, I'll be there to protect you from them." Rey says as she takes Ben's hand and the two of them look each other in the eyes and finally sit down in their seats, smiling at one another. "Alright, Ben, get ready for the jump to lightspeed!" Rey says as the Falcon jumps into hyperspace.

Back on Ajan Kloss, the members of the Resistance receive another message from Rey, telling them that she will be arriving soon. "It feels like we haven't seen her in forever…" Finn said, with a tear in his eye.

"Keep it together, Mr Sentimental, it's only been a few months, but I will admit that I missed her too." Poe replied. 

The Falcon enters the atmosphere of Ajan Kloss, its engines can be heard from the base. "Is this where you stayed for the year that we were separated, Rey?" Ben asked.

"Yes, this is where I trained under Leia." The Falcon's landing gear deployed, it was ready to land, within a few seconds, it had landed at the Resistance base. Members of the Resistance gathered around the Falcon, including Chewie; Han's best friend, within moments the ramp came down and the door opened, at the top of the ramp stood Rey and Ben, they walked down the ramp together, although most members of the Resistance were only able to see Rey, they immediately noticed something different about her. Finn ran to her, he couldn't believe that she was actually here again.

"Welcome home, Rey." Finn said, she looked him in the eyes.

"Finn, it's so good to see you again!" Rey said as she embraced Finn in a hug.

"Well if it isn't our best fighter, welcome back, Rey!" Poe said loudly. Rose came over and gave Rey a hug, the two of them were like sisters prior to Exegol. 

"We're so glad that you're back, Rey!" Rose said. Rey was almost overwhelmed by the sheer joy that she was feeling, seeing her friends again for the first time since Exegol. 

"So what have you been up to since the war ended, Rey?" Rose asked. 

"Well, it's a funny story actually, I've been living at the old home of Luke Skywalker these past few months and..."

"So, Rey, what actually happened on Exegol, I felt you die in the Force. But a miracle must have occurred because you're standing right here in front of us now." Finn said, curious to know exactly what happened during that final battle, he knew that something happened, but he wasn't sure of what. 

"Also, what happened to Kylo Ren? " Poe asked. 

"What I'm about to tell you may come as a shock to you all; yes, Finn it is true that I died on Exegol, the Jedi of the past channeled all of their power into me, enabling me to defeat Palpatine , but it took all of my life force to win in the end and I would not be here right now in front of you all if it weren't for one person, who gave their life for me, that person is _Ben Solo_ , he sacrificed himself so that I could live, you knew him as _Kylo Ren_ , but the truth is that Ben was always there and in his final moments, I got to know the real him. If it weren't for him, Palpatine would have won." 

"So then Kylo Ren is dead, that's a relief…" Poe said. 

"Poe, how could you say _that_?! He saved her life, if it weren't for him, the Emperor would still be alive!" Rose said. 

"Rose, you weren't tortured by him like I was, he was a cruel leader!" Poe responded. 

"And I have something else to share with you all, you probably noticed something different about me the moment that I got off the Falcon, and you're absolutely right, I'm _pregnant_." Rey said, telling her friends of the news that she was expecting and that she was going to become a mother soon.

Poe and Finn were absolutely shocked, "who do you think she ended up with?" Poe whispered to Finn. 

"I have no idea." Finn replied.

"Congratulations, Rey!" Rose said as she gave Rey another hug. 

"Who is the _father_?" Finn asked.


	7. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey reveals the father of her baby to the Resistance, Ben begins having visions of his deceased family.

"The father of my child is Ben Solo." Rey replied, completely unashamed of her love for Ben. 

"I'm sorry that he died, Rey." Rose said to Rey, feeling bad about her losing Ben.

"Thank you, Rose. It's been tough for me ever since he passed, that's part of the reason why I chose to isolate myself on Tattooine, but something happened not long after I started living in my new home, his Force ghost began visiting me every night and he's still with me, even now."

Ben comes up from behind Rey and places his hand on her shoulder, Finn nearly jumps out of his skin. "WHAT THE???!!!!!" 

"Wait, so he's dead but you're carrying his child, is there something I'm not getting here?!" Poe asked. 

"Poe, he's right over there, he's here!" Finn yelled out.

"What?! There's no one there, Finn, it's just Rey." Poe replied. 

"Rey, do you remember that thing that I wanted to tell you but never got the chance to?" Finn asked. 

"Yes, Finn, I do remember you saying that you wanted to tell me something." Rey replied.

"Well, it was that I'm _Force sensitive_ and I can see Ren, he's right next to you!"

"I know he is, Finn." Rey responded. 

"I don't understand, how did you get involved with Kylo Re…"

Ben interrupts; "my name is Ben, Kylo Ren is dead." 

"Yeah and it looks like _Ben_ is too…" Finn responded to Ben's interruption. 

"Why are you all so mean to each other? Rey is having a baby and all you guys are going to do is argue about the man that she loves, we should be supportive of her." Rose said as she spoke up, disgusted by the two main generals of the Resistance. 

"But Rose, he literally tried to kill us…" Finn replied. In that instance, Chewie cames over and gives Rey a big hug.

"It's good to see you again too, Chewie!" Rey said in response to Chewie's hug.

"Welcome back, Rey." Maz said as she approached Rey. 

"Thank you, Maz, I know before you told me that the belonging that I sought wasn't behind me, it was in front of me and I know now what you meant, my belonging was with _Ben_." 

"My dear child, yes, your destiny is to be with him." Maz said. 

"I wanted to ask you something, I've noticed something while going through my pregnancy, it directly correlates to Ben's ghostly form, what exactly is happening and why is it happening?" Rey asked, hoping to finally get the answer to this question that she's been asking herself since it started happening. 

"You see, Rey, you and Ben are a _dyad_ in the Force, two that are one, when Ben sacrificed himself to save you, he became a ghost but not in the traditional sense, due to yourself and him being one, he is able to be brought back from the dead, how this links to your pregnancy, I don't know, I know the Force, but this is a case I have never seen before. Theoretically, once you give birth, Ben should come back to life completely, but it's difficult to know for sure, as this may very well be the first time that this has ever happened before." 

"Thank you, Maz, I've just been trying to make sense of the whole thing. Why am I able to physically touch him, I know that he's a ghost but should I really be able to physically touch him?" Rey asked. 

"The reason that you and him are able to physically touch each other is because of the bond that you both share, the power of your connection with him transcends even death itself." Maz replied. 

Ben nudges Rey; "Yes, Ben?" 

"I think I'm ready to leave this place, it's clear to me that your friends are unwilling to accept us being together." Ben said, Rey wasn't at all happy with how Poe and Finn were treating Ben, he had died for her and they just shrugged it off as if he meant nothing, let alone that if it weren't for him, Palpatine would still be at large. 

"I don't give a damn what they think, the fact that you saved countless lives, including my own, means more to me than the petty grudge that they have against you." 

"I apologise for all the terrible things that they said, Rey, don't let this make you think that we're all against you, I'm happy that you found someone who treats you like you deserve to be treated." Rose said, apologizing for Finn and Poe's behavior towards Ben. 

"If only Leia were still around, things would be different. Ben is her _son_ , after all." Rey said, thinking about the memory of Leia, and how she would have welcomed Ben home with open arms. "Rose, if it isn't too much to ask for, do you have an area where I could go and lie down for a little while?" Rey asked. 

"Of course, Rey, we have a few rooms in the base that are vacant now, help yourself." 

"Thank you, Rose, I just need to get some rest." Rey walked towards one of the rooms inside the base, Ben followed her close with his hand on her back, supporting her. Once they make it to the room, Rey sits on the bed, Ben sits beside her.

"What's wrong, Rey?" Ben asked.

"I just can't believe the way that they treated you, Ben, you're a hero but it's like to them that you don't even matter." Rey said as she began crying. 

"There, there, Rey, it's alright." Ben said as he comforted her. 

"But it's not, you mean the world to me, Ben, I would do anything for you and to hear them talk about you like that just breaks my heart, my emotions are already messed up from being pregnant, I don't need this extra stress from them." Rey said as she laid her head on Ben's shoulder. 

"I love you, Rey, you and our daughter are the only things that matter to me now." Ben said as he placed his one hand on her shoulder and the other on her belly. 

"I love you too, Ben, I don't know what I would do without you." 

"You don't need to think about it, Rey, I'm here." Rey placed her hand on top of Ben's hand that was resting on her belly, the power of their bond produced a warm feeling between the two of them, connecting with their daughter together. They both couldn't believe it, they felt the warmth of their daughter's presence despite her still being inside her mother.

"Our little girl is full of surprises, isn't she, Ben?"

"Yes, she is, I was able to feel that sense of warmth, how is that possible?" Ben asked. 

"I think it might have something to do with the strength of our connection, we touched her at the same time, she must know that she is loved. She probably sensed me hurting and wanted to reach out to help me."

"I still can't believe that we're actually going to be parents, Rey, after a life of torment and manipulation, I never thought that I would truly find peace, always hearing voices in my head, but those have finally passed and my suffering has ended." Hearing Ben talk about the horrible things that he had gone through in life brought Rey to tears. 

"I always thought that I would have lived out the rest of my days on Jakku, scavenging for parts and getting little in return, practically being starved, then the Force brought us together, Ben, I can't tell you enough how thankful I am that you are still able to be there for me, and for the little angel that we made together. I never imagined that I would have an actual _family_ of my own, I thought that I would always be alone, after you faded, I thought that was the end, that I would go back to living on my own with no family, no children, nothing." 

"I will see to it that you are never alone again, Rey." Ben said as he kissed her forehead. The two of them just sat there on the bed, comforting each other, before long, Rey had fallen asleep in Ben's arms. He sat there and admired her, once the beautiful scavenger girl from Jakku, next the last Jedi, now she was the mother of his child and he had never found her to be more beautiful than he did now. Ben gently moved her into a position that would be more comfortable for her to sleep in, with a pillow under her head, he decided to lie down with her. 

When Rey awoke, she turned over to see Ben beside her, asleep; "but he's a _ghost_ , he doesn't need to sleep?" Rey thought to herself. What Rey didn't know is that Ben was dreaming, while at the same time he was being shown a vision. 

"Hello, Ben." A voice called out to him. 

"Mother, is that you?!" Ben asked. Leia's spirit began to materialize in front of him. 

"Yes, it is me, Ben." Leia embraced her son with a hug, the two had finally been reunited after what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm so sorry for everything…" 

"I forgive you, if anything I should be the one apologising to you for sending you away with Luke as a child, I thought that by him training you to become a Jedi would have helped, I was wrong." 

"I accept your apology, mother, it pains me so much that I never got my chance to talk to you again in life." Ben lowered his head, sighing, feeling regret and sadness that he was never able to come back home to his mother. 

"But death is not the end, Ben, look at what has happened to you, you sacrificed yourself to save Rey, and you are still connected with her." 

"What is it that is keeping me connected to her, why am I unable to pass into the Force like you did, why is my form changing every moment of every day?" Ben asked, hoping for an answer as to why his form was constantly changing. 

"The reason why you keep changing, Ben, is because she is constantly changing, the reason why Rey was able to become pregnant was due to the strength of the bond you both share, you're not dead, Ben, you're in-between the realm of the living and the Force. The reason that you can't fully become one with the Force is because she lives, and as long as she lives, you can return to life." Leia responded, smiling. 

"But how can I return to life?" Ben asked.

"The full power of the bond that you share with Rey has not been fully realized yet, your daughter will have a hand in your return, Ben. Trust in your family, _nothing is impossible_." Leia responded, assuring Ben that he can return to life. 

"I miss you so much, mother." Ben said as he embraced Leia in a hug, crying. 

"I know you do, Ben, and I will always be with you."

After the vision that Ben had of his mother ended, he had another vision of someone else, this time it was his uncle, _Luke Skywalker_. 

"Hey kid." Luke said to him. 

"Luke…" Ben called out. 

"Yes, Ben, it is me." Luke replied. Ben was still feeling some anger towards his uncle, the thought that he was going to kill him had never left his mind, not even in death. 

"If you're still mad, I understand." Luke said.

"I'm not mad anymore, I got all my frustrations out on _Crait_." Ben replied."

"Good, you've finally let go of your hate and allowed the light in, you became who you were always meant to be; _Ben Solo_." 

"I did let go of all the hate that I felt before, all the rage, I'm finally free of all the pain and suffering, free of _Palpatine_." Ben replied. 

"That's good, Ben, can you forgive me for what I had almost done to you that night at the _temple_?" Ben thought about it for a second, had he still been conflicted, he would have never been able to forgive his uncle and former master, but he wasn't conflicted anymore, he was reborn. 

"I forgive you, Luke." Ben said as he reached out his hand to Luke, who took it and they both finally made up, no longer did Ben feel hatred or resentment towards his uncle.

"Thank you, Ben." Luke said as he vanished and the vision ended. 

Ben awoke beside Rey, who was still lying down but her eyes were open, looking at him. "Ben, did you actually fall asleep?" Rey asked, surprised that Ben fell asleep despite being a ghost. 

"I guess I did." Ben replied, trying to make sense of all that was happening, if he was a ghost, why would he need to sleep? Rey knew that something was happening, Ben's process of whatever it was that was happening was continuing. "How are my two beautiful angels doing after a long nap?"

"I'm doing just fine, Ben, I feel much better now than I did when we first got here. As for her, she's still asleep." 

Elsewhere in the base, Finn and Poe are talking. "I can't believe this, I thought that Rey was better than this, why would she want to be with someone like Ren?" Finn asked. 

"I have no idea, but something tells me that he manipulated her, he's not a _hero_ , he's a _war criminal_. Her carrying his child doesn't mean a thing if you ask me." Poe replied in a bit of an irritated tone.

"He's the enemy, he tried to kill us, you and I both remember what happened back on Crait." Finn said. 

"Sure do, he had a total meltdown, if it weren't for Luke's distraction, every single one of us would have been killed." Poe responded, thinking about what had happened just under 2 years ago at the _Battle of Crait_ . 

"With the way that he was, why would she want to have a child with him? It just doesn't make any sense." Finn asked.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense, he tried to kill both of us, I can't even begin to imagine what he tried to do to her." Poe said as he thought about all the possibilities of what Ben could have done to Rey, but he couldn't have been more wrong. 

Back in their room, Ben and Rey are sitting on their bed. "So what do you want to do next, Rey?"

"I don't know, Ben. I really wasn't expecting them to be as cruel as they were to you, you saved everyone, they think that you're some kind of cruel monster, but you're not, you're just someone who is very misunderstood. They think that they know you because they saw the mask that was Kylo Ren, but they don't know you, the real you, not like I do." Rey paused.

"Then perhaps it's time that they've met the real me." 


	8. The Truth Is Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is bothering Ben and Rey's baby, Finn learns the truth about Ben.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Ben? We can leave and go back home if you want." Rey asked. 

"Yes, Rey, this is something that needs to be done." Ben said as he brought Rey into his arms. 

"Ow!" Rey yelped.

"I'm sorry, Rey, did I hurt you?" Ben said as he gently rubbed her back.

"No, Ben, you're fine, it was just our daughter kicking. I think that something has been bothering her lately." Ben's first thought was Palpatine when he heard Rey say that something might be bothering their daughter. Ben placed his hand on Rey's belly, using the Force to see if he could sense anything, he hoped with all his being that there was nothing hurting her, he would hate for her to go through what he had gone through. "Well, Ben, is everything alright?" Rey asked, nervous to hear his response.

"She's fine, but she doesn't like the way that we've been treated ever since we arrived here, it really upsets her." Ben replied.

"Well, I'm glad that she's alright but it saddens me to hear that she's upset, my poor baby girl" Rey said as she placed her hand over Ben's on her belly, opening the connection that they have with their daughter, this time they could touch her, in the connection, Ben was whole again, no longer transparent, no longer a _ghost_. 

"Look at how precious she is, Ben." Rey said as she picked her daughter up and held her. "It's alright, sweetie, there's no need to be upset, we're going to be going home soon."

"She's the cutest thing that I've ever laid eyes on." Ben said. 

"It's almost hard to believe that she came from us, who would have thought that we would actually have a family of our own, Ben?" 

"It's almost hard to believe that she's real, a child of our own." Ben said. 

"But she is _real_ , Ben and she's our baby." Just then the connection ended and Ben and Rey awoke. 

"What was that, Rey?" Ben asked.

"That was the power of our bond, Ben, it's getting stronger, now we're able to hold her." Rey looked at Ben, she was sad to see that his form was transparent again, she let down a single tear from her eye that ran down her face. 

"Are you alright, Rey?" 

"I'm fine, Ben. It's just that I was hoping that you would be alive once the connection ended, because you were whole when we were in the connection." Rey replied. 

"It's alright, Rey, maybe me being whole in the connection is a sign that I will one day live again." 

"I do believe that you will one day return to life, Ben, but I don't like having to wait so long for it to happen. I know that you're always with me and that you're unable to fade away anymore but I want you to be alive, I just want the satisfaction, knowing that you're alive and here with me, with _her_. " 

"It will happen, Rey." Ben said as he gave Rey a kiss on her forehead. 

"I've been feeling more and more tired lately, Ben, I want to stay in shape but…I feel so huge, I've always been so thin and athletic, I don't feel like that at all now." Rey said as she sighed, her emotions were still out of control. 

"Rey, you're pregnant. I don't care what you say, you're beautiful, you're the mother of my child and I love you with all my heart." 

"Thank you, Ben, I know that you're probably tired of saying that all the time" Rey said as she giggled a little. "I love you too."

"I don't tire of telling you that you're beautiful, Rey, because it's the truth, you are beautiful." Rey smiled at him, hearing Ben call her beautiful made her heart flutter with joy, even though he had said it before, with her emotions out of control due to her pregnancy, it helped.

"Oh!" Rey yelped.

"What is it, Rey, did the baby kick again?"

"Yes, she did." Rey said as she rubbed her belly. "Are you alright, my sweet little girl?" Rey asked her unborn child, through the Force she could sense her daughter's happiness, her mother and father's love for her had calmed her down from before, she was no longer upset, she was content and asleep once more. 

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door to Rey's room. Rey got up from her bed and went to answer it; "who is it?" She asked, wondering who it was that was knocking. 

"It's me, Finn. I want to talk with you." Rey sighed, one of the last things that she wanted to do right now was talk to Finn, but she opened the door anyway. "Rey, I'm sorry about the way that I acted earlier, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just don't trust…" Finn struggled to finish his sentence, not wanting to even say the true name of the one that he knew as Kylo Ren. 

"You don't trust, _Ben_ , is that it, Finn?" Rey asked.

"Yes, Rey, I don't trust him because of all the terrible things that he did, he tried to kill both of us on _Starkiller_ _Base_ , I don't understand how you could forgive him so easily." 

"I think it's time that you learn the truth of what happened to Ben and why he became _Kylo Ren_." Rey said as she turned to Ben, who came to the doorway. "Tell him, Ben, tell him about how it all happened, how you were manipulated and groomed by Palpatine. "

"It all started when I was still inside my mother's womb, she could sense that something was hurting me, but she was unable to do anything about it, as a toddler I was raised mostly by droids, my mother was too busy to raise me as she was always caught up with politics and my father was never around…"

Finn interrupted Ben; "I never even knew my family, I was taken from them and raised into the First Order, at least you knew your parents." 

"You think that's where it ends? Because things only got worse, at around the age of 10 my mother sent me away to train with Luke Skywalker in hopes that he would be able to help me control my darkness, but it only made things worse, throughout my entire life I had voices in my head, I heard them every night, every second of every day. Until the night that it happened, Luke showed up in my hut with his lightsaber ignited, prepared to kill me. Snoke destroyed Luke's Jedi temple, I didn't know what to do, my mind had been manipulated so much at that point that I had no choice but to go with him, he would have killed me otherwise, you think that I wanted to _kill_ my own father? I wanted to go home with him more than anything, I never wanted to hurt or kill anyone. It wasn't until a few months ago that I learned the truth, that it was Palpatine all along, the voices inside my head, he was the one manipulating me the entire time. I gave my life for Rey, I hope you understand me a little better now, the pain that I've gone through, I had never had a moment in my life where I was truly happy, not until I brought Rey back to life. Only in death have the voices inside my head finally subsided." 

Finn was absolutely speechless to hear the full story from Ben. "....I had no idea, I thought you were just some kind of _tyrannical dictator_ that worked for Snoke…" 

"Now do you understand, Finn?" Rey asked him. 

"Yes...I do, I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like having a voice inside your head all the time, manipulating you, it must have been a fate worse than death." Finn said, still in disbelief of all that Ben had gone through in life. 

"I'm sorry for all that I did in the past, all the pain that I caused you and your brethren." Ben said.

"And I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, I had no idea of what you had gone through." Finn replied.

"So are we all _friends_ now?" Rey asked, hoping that the feud between Ben and Finn would finally be put to an end. 

"Well, I don't know about 'friends', but we definitely have a much better understanding of each other now." Finn said. 

"I can accept that." Ben replied. 

"Good, at least you two have set aside your differences." Rey said with relief. 

"You take good care of Rey, Ben, she's my best friend and I love her like a _sister_." Finn said as he walked back into the main part of the base. 

"Do you think that he's going to tell Poe?" Rey asked Ben, wondering if Finn will tell Poe the truth about Ben. 

"I think he will." Ben said as he took Rey's hand.

"I sure hope so, I don't want anymore stress, I know that it's not good for her." 

"Just relax, Rey, take a deep breath and allow the Force to guide your movements." Rey does just as Ben says, she feels as if a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. 

"Better?" Ben asked.

"Much better." She replied. 


	9. The Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe is told the truth about Ben, Ben and Rey name their baby and members of the Resistance try to start trouble but Mama Rey is having none of it.

Elsewhere in the Resistance base, Finn is discussing with Poe the truth regarding Ben. "So you're telling me that throughout his entire life, he never had a chance at happiness or anything?" Poe asked. 

"Yes, he lived his entire life with the voice of the Emperor in his head, manipulating him, he never felt peace or freedom until after Palpatine was destroyed, he gave his life to save Rey, had he not gotten there when he did, the Emperor would have won the war." Finn responded. Poe takes a moment to take in all that he has just learned about his former worst enemy.

 _"_ So he was a hero... and we never even knew?!" Poe said.

"Yes, Leia gave her life so that he could come back from the dark side." Finn replied. 

Back in Rey's room, Rey and Ben are sitting on their bed, with their eyes closed, Ben's hand on her belly and her hand over his, the connection opens once more and there in front of them is their daughter, sleeping peacefully. Ben gently picks her up, careful not to wake her. "She looks so much like you, Rey." 

_"_ I've been thinking lately, what should we name her, Ben?" Rey asked, although they had known for some time that they would be having a girl, neither one of them had thought of a name for her yet. 

"I'm not sure, how about _Kira?"_ Ben asked back. 

"I like that name _, Kira."_ Rey replied. _"_ Are you _crying_ , Ben?" 

"Yes, I just can't believe that after all that I've been through that I was given the opportunity to come back and start a family with you, Rey." 

"I'm very thankful that you were able to come back to me, Ben, I felt very incomplete without you." Rey said as a small tear ran down her face. 

"I'm amazed more and more every day by the fact that the Force brought us together the way that it did." Ben said as he handed Kira to her mother. 

"I can't wait for her to be born, so I can hold her all the time, be there for her and right the wrongs of what my parents did for me." Rey said, cradling her daughter in her arms as she slept. 

_"_ Your parents might not have been there for you, but I always will." Ben said as he kissed Rey on the cheek, Rey had never felt so much love before, the lonely scavenger girl from Jakku had finally found her belonging after so long.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, but Ben and Rey were so deeply connected in the moment that they didn't even hear it, they might as well have been asleep, feeling the warmth of their daughter, 3 hearts beating as one in perfect synchronization. It was a state of absolute peace, unlike anything the two of them had ever experienced before, they felt their love in a way that they never felt it before, beyond even when they had intercourse several months before. Ben and Rey both wanted to just stay there in the connection and admire their baby girl, but the connection was beginning to end. _"_ We'll see you again soon, my sweet little girl." Rey said as the connection ended. They awoke on their bed, Rey turned towards Ben and smiled.

"What's that _smile_ for?" Ben asked.

"I'm happy, Ben, happy that we're going to have a _baby_." Ben smiled back at her, a few tears falling from his face. "Oh!" She yelped.

"Are you alright, Rey?" Ben asked. 

_"_ I'm fine, Ben. Little baby Kira is just so active." Rey said as she caressed her belly. "She was really happy to see us."

There was another knock on the door, Rey got up to answer it. "Who is it?" She asked.

"It's Poe, I wanted to talk to you about something." She answered the door, Poe was standing there, "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier, Finn told me all about Ben, I had no idea of what he had gone through, I'm sorry." He said. 

"Apology accepted." Rey replied.

"If you want to come back out, the rest of the Resistance would love to talk with you again, maybe catch up with each other." Poe said, hoping that Rey would come out and talk with the rest of the Resistance.

"I'll think about it, I've got a few things that I have to do first." Rey responded. 

"Okay, we'll be waiting for you." Poe said as he walked out the door. She closed the door once more, walked back over to her bed where Ben was sitting and sat down next to him.

"Well, they know the truth now, about you, about _us_." She said, thinking about everything that has happened in the past few months.

"You should go talk with them, Rey. They're your friends." Ben replied.

"I know, but I just don't feel like it right now, I just want to sit here with you." Rey said as she yawned, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Sounds like somebody is tired." He said. 

"Very much so, I've been feeling a little sick too, honestly." Rey replied. 

"Just take a little nap, Rey, I'll go get you something to eat from the _Falcon_." 

"You would do that for me? Thank you, Ben."

"Of course I would, Rey." Ben replied as he headed out the door and into the base on his way to the Falcon, once inside the Falcon he opens up the storage hatch, revealing a bunch of food inside a large container, including the ingredients needed for _rootleaf stew_ , which just so happened to be a favorite of Ben's when he trained with Luke as a _Jedi Padawan._

Once he got back inside his and Rey's room, he decided to cook her a meal. "What's that, that you're making, Ben?" Rey asked, curious as to what kind of meal he was preparing for her. 

"It's my specialty, you're going to love it." He replied. Ben prepared her meal and brought it to her in bed. "Now, be careful, because it's really hot." Ben said to her, but Rey had been starving all day and nearly inhaled the bowl of rootleaf stew. 

"That was delicious! Much better than _portions_!" 

"I'm glad that you like it, Rey, it's something that I used to make when I was training with Luke, it's called rootleaf stew." Ben replied. 

"I actually feel a little better now after eating, I kinda want to go for a little walk around the base."

"You're not tired anymore?" Ben asked, surprised to hear Rey say that she wants to go for a walk. 

"Not really, it would probably be good for me to get a little bit of exercise anyway." Rey replied as she took Ben's hand and the two of them walked out the door, out into the base. 

The two of them were stopped by Rose; "so where are you two _love birds_ headed off to?" Rose asked.

"Wait, she can see _me_?" Ben whispered into Rey's ear.

"I guess she can, Ben." Rey replied.

"We're just going for a walk around the base, Rey wanted to get a little exercise." Ben said. 

"Oh, that's good for her and for the baby." Rose replied.

"I haven't been able to do my usual Jedi training exercises, due to being pregnant and all, so I figured that a nice walk would be a good way to stay healthy." Rey said. 

"You look healthy to me, you're glowing if anything." Rose responded.

"Thank you, Rose, I just can't wait until she's here and I can hold her in my arms." 

"Oh, you're having a baby girl, congratulations! Have you thought of a name for her yet?" Rose asked. 

"We did actually, her name is _Kira_." Rey replied. 

"That's a pretty name, whose idea was it to call her Kira?" Rose asked. 

"It was Ben's idea." Rey responded. Rey began to feel a little nervous about going for a walk around the base, while she had already made peace with Poe and Finn, how would everyone else react to Ben's presence, had Poe or Finn even told everyone else? Rey thought as her shoulders tensed up.

"Is everything alright, Rey? You look a little tense." Ben asked.

"I'm fine, Ben, I'm just nervous. While Finn, Poe and Rose are aware of us, mainly you, I'm not sure if everyone else in the Resistance is." Rey replied. 

"It will be alright." Ben assured her as he took her hand and smiled at her.

They continued their walk around the base, not surprising to Rey; people were giving the two of them dirty looks. "Hey, isn't that Kylo Ren?" One of the members asked. 

"I think it is, what is he doing with Rey?" Another member asked. 

"I don't know, I can't believe that she's going to have his child, I feel bad for the poor girl. Having to bear the child of a _mass murderer_ " the first member said in a disgusted tone.

"Yeah, the kid is going to have some serious issues." the other member responded. Unfortunately for the two of them, Ben overheard the commotion and decided to confront them.

"You think that I can't hear you? How dare you talk about my child like that!" Ben yelled, angered by hearing people talk badly of his daughter. 

"Well, she is going to have some serious issues…" the first member was cut off before he could speak another word by Ben force choking him, Ben could kill him if he really wanted to, even as a ghost, he was capable of using all of his Force powers. The other member was shocked to witness such strength from him.

"Apologize or I'll kill y…"

Ben was interrupted by Rey; "Ben, please don't do this, this isn't who you are" she cried out. Ben kept his grip on the man before finally letting him go, the man ran off somewhere else in the base. 

"I'm sorry, Rey, but they talked ill of our daughter as well as myself. I wasn't going to just let it go." Ben said as he apologized to Rey.

"While I don't approve of what you did, I don't blame you for doing it. In fact, I probably would have done worse, it's nice to know that Poe and Finn _haven't_ told the rest of the base." Rey said, annoyed at the fact that the truth wasn't told to everyone else regarding herself and Ben. 

"Do you still want to stay here?" He asked. Rey thought to herself about how they had both been treated while they had been staying at the base and as she thought about it, she discovered that Kira was upset, the tears were running down her face, a reflection of how her daughter was feeling. "Is everything alright, Rey? You're _crying_." Ben asked, noticing that Rey had just started crying out of nowhere, he wrapped his arm around her to comfort her. 


	10. Rey's Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has decided that she has had enough of the stress brought upon her by the Resistance, having to constantly calm down her poor baby girl. Ben and Rey leave the Resistance in favor of their forever home.

"Kira is upset, Ben. The way that we were being treated made her sad. I think I've had enough of this place." Rey said, she knew what had to be done to calm her baby down. They headed back to the room that they were staying in, once they got back in the room, the two of them sat on the bed. Ben placed his hand on her belly, and then she placed her hand on top of his, reopening the bond that they have with their daughter. The moment that the bond reopened, Rey discovered that Kira was already in her arms. "There, there my sweet little girl, there's no need to cry. Mommy and Daddy love you very much" Rey said as she gently rocked her daughter back and forth.

"It's alright, Kira, we're going to be going home soon." Ben said, Kira reached out with her little hand to Ben. Her hand wasn't even the size of his pinkie, he reached back out to her and father and daughter touched hands for the very first time, Ben's large hands seemed absolutely enormous in comparison to her little baby hands.

"Aww, she really loves you, Ben." Rey said, observing the father-daughter bond that Ben had with Kira. As Kira began to calm down and become tired, a feeling of warmth rushed over Ben and Rey. 

"I can't even describe in words just how much I love the both of you" Ben said to both Rey and Kira.

"I love you too, Ben, as well as our little _angel_ " Rey said as she kissed her daughter on her little forehead. The feeling that the three of them were feeling in this moment was absolute peace and the never-ending love for each other.

Now that their daughter was content and asleep once more, the bond had ended. Ben and Rey opened their eyes; "are you ready to leave this place, Ben?" Rey asked him. 

"Yes, very much so, at first I thought it would have been a good idea since you insisted on seeing your friends again, but now I don't think that this was such a great idea, while it's true that we made peace with Finn, Poe and Rose. The rest of the Resistance is just as stubborn as ever." Ben responded, feeling relieved that himself and Rey were going to be leaving the base soon.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, Rey got up from her bed to answer it; "who is it?" She had asked. 

"It's Rose" Rose responded, Rey opened the door.

"Oh, hi Rose. Ben and I are just getting ready to leave to head home" Rey said.

"You're leaving _already_?!" Rose had asked, surprised to hear that Ben and Rey weren't going to stick around longer.

"Yes, Rose, I'm sorry but we can't handle the constant negativity of the people here. It really upsets our daughter." 

"But aren't you pregnant with her? I don't understand…" Rose asked, puzzled by what Rey had just said. 

"Yes, I am pregnant with her but there's something about the way that she's connected to me through the Force that makes her very sensitive, everything that she feels, I feel. So if she feels sad, then I'll feel sad. I'm sorry, Rose, I would love to stay but I just can't handle the stress" Rey responded.

"It's alright, I understand" Rose said as she embraced Rey in a tight hug. 

"Thank you, Rose. Perhaps maybe me and Ben will come visit again once Kira is born and the rest of the Resistance learn to respect myself and Ben."

After Rose had left the room, Ben and Rey began packing up their belongings and moving them to the Falcon. "This is it, Ben. We're finally going to get to go home" Rey said with a smile on her face, she was so happy that she was going to be away from all the stress of the Resistance, she was finally going to go to a place that would feel like home to her. 

"Is there anything else left, Rey?" Ben asked her, wondering if they had already packed everything up into the storage compartment on the Falcon. 

"Just this really heavy case of tools, ow! This thing is too heavy!" Rey said as she struggled with the case.

"How about you let me take care of that for you, sweetheart, I don't want you hurting yourself or putting any pressure on the baby" Ben asked, knowing that Rey shouldn't be handling such heavy equipment at this stage in her pregnancy, for fear of harming herself and or her unborn child. 

"I suppose you're right, I don't want to upset her anymore than what she has been lately" Rey responded as she let Ben take the heavy case and place it in the storage compartment. The two of them had loaded everything up, they were ready to leave for the place that they would call home .

It was nightfall by the time that everything was ready to go, Ben had just finished making minor adjustments to the Falcon. "Alright, she's all good to go!" Ben said, having fixed the problems that the Falcon had been having that were preventing it from taking off. Rey walked into the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat.

"Are you ready, Ben?" She asked, wondering if Ben was ready to finally fly off to the planet that Rey had seen in her dreams; Naboo . 

"I've never been more ready than I am now" he replied. 

The Falcon's engines fired up and within minutes, they were out in space. As they're flying through space, Ben notices that Rey is looking a little tired; "are you alright, Rey?" He asked. 

"I'm fine, Ben. Just a little tired" she replied, her eyes were flickering, she was tired from all the work that she had done to get everything packed up onto the Falcon. 

"You can go to sleep if you want, Rey, I'll put the ship on autopilot" Ben said, assuring that she can rest if she needs it.

"You know what, that sounds like a good idea. Are you going to come sleep with me, Ben?" Rey asked, yawning, she was definitely tired, she approached the foldout bed, there was just enough room for the two of them. 

"Of course I will, I've been feeling a little tired myself, actually" Ben replied, as he put the ship on autopilot so that he could rest for the night. The two of them walked hand in hand to the bed and lied down together.

"Goodnight, Rey. Sleep well, my love" Ben said as he kissed Rey goodnight. 

"Goodnight, Ben" Rey said as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, it wasn't long before Ben himself had fallen asleep. 


	11. An Unexpected Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben bonds with Kira and an unexpected visitor pays Ben a visit.

Around the middle of the night, Ben was awoken by the presence of his daughter; _Kira_ through the Force, he picked her up and held her through the bond that they share, as he held her, he felt this sense of warmth, he could feel that the beat of her heart was doing something to him, he was losing the transparency of his image, becoming more whole. He just sat there with his daughter, holding her.

"Daddy loves you more than anything in the world, Kira." He said as he kissed her on her little forehead, the connection had ended at that point and Ben woke up, careful not to wake Rey up, he could sense Kira moving around inside her mother. "Hey, angel, let mommy sleep." He said as he rested his hand on Rey's belly, trying to keep Kira calm, before he himself finally fell back to sleep. 

_"Ben"_ a voice called out to him. 

"Who's there?" Ben asked, prepared for anything. 

"Ben, it is me, your grandfather; _Anakin Skywalker."_ The voice responded. 

" _Grandfather_?!" Ben was shocked, after all the time that he had tried speaking to his grandfather, it had turned out to be Palpatine , but this was different, this was indeed his redeemed grandfather. 

"Ben, I'm here to apologise to you, I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed it, but I'm here now. You have no idea how badly it hurt me when I learned that you had fallen to the dark side." Anakin said, explaining his sadness for what had happened to Ben. 

"Why didn't you help me when I needed you the most?" Ben asked, confused and slightly angry.

"I'm sorry, Ben, I truly am. I had no idea that the Emperor was plaguing your mind with all these horrible thoughts and trying to turn you away from your family, making you believe that you are unloved." Anakin replied, feeling immense pain and regret that he couldn't be there for his one and only grandchild. 

"Just know that everything that the Emperor ever told you was a lie, Ben, you are loved, more than you could ever imagine. It hurts so much that it took death for the two of us to finally meet." Anakin said, reassuring Ben that he is loved by his family. 

"Grandfather, I heard stories about you, that you were a terrible man who did unspeakable things...is that all true?" Ben asked, curious to know the story of Anakin Skywalker from the man himself, he was told before by Snoke but he wanted to know for sure what was the truth and what was false. 

"The stories are true, I'm afraid, Ben. I started my life on Tattooine, born of my mother alone, with no father. At a young age I was taken from her to be brought before the Jedi, I was told by them that I was _The Chosen One,_ the one who would bring balance to the Force. I had shown great strengths in my Jedi training with my master _Obi Wan Kenobi_ , who was also my best friend, he showed me how to become a _Jedi Knight_. Eventually I lost my mother, this was my first push to the dark side, losing her caused me to become enraged and wipe out an entire village of _Tusken Raiders_ , as revenge for the death of my mother. I fell in love with your grandmother; _Padmé Amidala_ around this time, the day that she told me that she was pregnant, it should have been the best day of my life, but it wasn't, I began having nightmares of her dying in childbirth, visions that were planted into my mind by the Emperor himself, as the months went by, my fear of losing your grandmother took control over all of my thoughts, I was so afraid to lose her that I didn't realize that I was being manipulated until it was too late, after she died, I became doomed to the dark side, forced to serve my master, the Emperor. I spent a good portion of my later years serving the Empire, but I tried all I could to revive my beloved, I never could, it broke my heart that I was never able to see her again. It wasn't until later that I learned that my children had in fact survived and did not die with Padmé, if it hadn't been for Luke coming to me and encouraging me to let go of my hatred, there's a good chance that I would have never been able to turn back to the light." Ben just sat there, in awe of learning what his grandfather had gone through throughout his life, it made him think about how blessed he was to have Rey and their child on the way.

"I want to congratulate you, Ben, congratulations on becoming a father. I know that you'll love your family with all your heart, you did what I couldn't do, you saved your beloved from death. I would give anything to be reunited with Padmé." Anakin said, proud of his grandson for succeeding in saving Rey from dying. 


	12. Ghosts of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's conversation with his grandfather continues, learning more and more about his tragic past, as well as his desire to be reunited with his beloved. Rey herself begins to dream of a woman who explains her sad fate.

Although Ben was very happy to have saved his beloved Rey from death, he felt bad for his grandfather, having been unable to be reunited with his beloved Padme, even in death, they weren't together. 

"Grandfather, I want to help you, I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I want to help you reunite with grandmother, I'm sure that your time in the Force has been very lonely without her." Ben said, he was surprised to learn just how much like his grandfather he actually was, they had both been taken from their mothers, groomed by the Emperor, been separated from their soulmate, and both died for the ones that they love, Ben for Rey and Anakin for Luke. 

"My time in the Force has been very lonely, Ben, although my former masters as well as my children are here, it's not the same without her. If I only hadn't listened to Palpatine, if only I had killed him when I had the chance." Anakin said, feeling great regret that he had not killed Palpatine when he had the chance, it doomed him for the rest of his life, a life of pain and suffering, until he had a change of heart at the very end of his life. 

"My entire life as _Darth Vader_ was spent serving the Emperor, I tried everything that I could to revive your grandmother, but in the end, I never could. No amount of power could have brought her back to me, it was all a lie by the Emperor himself. He told me that he knew the secret to keeping people from dying. Until I heard that you were able to save the one that you loved, you made the ultimate sacrifice Ben, you succeeded where I failed." Anakin said.

"I'm not sure if there's a way to bring her back to life, but there has to be a way to free her from wherever she is, a purgatory of some sort, a dimension that exists between the living and the Force itself." Ben said as the vision ended and he awoke to Rey sleeping peacefully beside him, what he didn't know was that she was dreaming. 

In her dream, Rey saw the figure of a woman walking toward her; "who are you?" Rey asked. 

"My name is _Padmé Amidala_ , former Queen of _Naboo_ and wife of _Anakin Skywalker_. You must be Rey." Padmé said to her. 

"Yes, are you Ben's _grandmother_?" Rey responded, surprised to see one of Ben's relatives appear to her. 

"Yes, I am." Padmé said, Rey could tell that Padmé was sad about something.

"What's wrong, why are you speaking to me?" Rey asked. 

"I'm here to talk to you because I know about what happened to Ben and I feel so sorry for you, Rey. I know what it's like to lose someone that you love and care about." Padmé said, feeling sad for Rey losing Ben, she welcomed the young girl with open arms and Rey just couldn't hold it back anymore, she broke down and cried in Padmé's arms, she knew that Ben was still with her due to the bond, but she still wanted him to be alive and well, thanks to the power of their bond as well as their very own daughter, him coming back to life could very well become a reality. 

"I just want him alive, alive and with me." Rey told Padmé. 

"I watched from the _World Between Worlds_ , Rey, I watched him bring you back to life, I watched him carry his broken, _failing_ body to you. He was so afraid of losing you, that his own life didn't even matter to him in that moment." Padmé said, much to Rey's surprise, she had been aware of what had happened on Exegol. 

"You spoke of a _World Between Worlds_ , yes?" Rey asked, curious to know what Padmé was referring to, although Rey herself had gotten help from the Jedi of the past through access to the World Between Worlds, she wasn't much aware of what it actually was. 

"Yes, the World Between Worlds is where my soul has been trapped ever since my death, I've watched over time and space from it, seeing what has happened to my family, even though now I have no surviving family left." Padmé explained, but Rey had something to say that would hopefully make Padmé at least a little bit happy. 

"Well, what if I told you that you do have one last living family member?" Rey said. 

"I do, who is it?" Padmé asked, curious to hear what Rey had to say next, she knew that Ben was the last surviving member of the Skywalker family prior to his death, but had she been wrong, was there really another? 

"Well, myself and Ben are expecting a little girl soon." Rey responded, Padmé's face lit up with joy upon hearing the news that Rey was carrying her great-granddaughter. 

"You're _pregnant_? Congratulations, Rey, I'm sure that Ben was overjoyed when you told him!" 

"He was, in fact, he wants nothing more than to be there for me and her." Rey replied. Hearing Rey talk about Ben's reaction to her news of her being pregnant, made Padmé think about the day that she herself revealed to Anakin that she was pregnant with Luke and Leia , she had thought about the happiness that the both of them had shared together, the happiness that was sadly cut short when Anakin had turned to the dark side through manipulation by who was at the time _Chancellor Palpatine_ .


	13. Power of the Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's conversation with Padmé continues, Ben and Rey connect with their unborn child once more and Ben's ghostly form continues to change.

"Is something wrong, Padmé?" Rey asked. 

"I was just thinking about how everything could have been had Anakin never turned to the dark side, we would have raised Luke and Leia on my homeworld of Naboo together, but it appears that it wasn't meant to be. I wish you and Ben all the best with your baby, I hope you three have the happy life that Anakin and myself never could, knowing all the horrible things that you've gone through, you deserve it, Rey. You deserve happiness." Padmé replied. 

Rey smiled at Padmé; "I want to help you, you may have not had the happiness that you wanted in life but I believe that you could still be reunited with your husband in the Force." Rey said, she wanted to help Padmé reunite with her soulmate and she was determined to make it happen, she had successfully gotten Ben back to her, she knew that one way or another that she was going to help Padme reunite with Anakin. 

"Thank you, Rey, I admire your determination." Padmé said as the dream ended and Rey awoke in her bed. 

Rey was surprised to see that Ben was wide awake next to her; "it's still awfully late, Ben, we should both get back to sleep." Rey said. 

"I know it is, but I just had a dream that I'm not quite sure how to take in. Rey...I saw my grandfather, I saw _Anakin Skywalker_." Ben responded, still in disbelief that he had actually spoken to the spirit of his grandfather. 

"It's funny you should mention that, Ben, because I had a dream of a woman, she was very beautiful but also very sad, she told me that she was your grandmother and that she had watched over you as your guardian angel."

"What do you suppose that these dreams mean, Rey?" Ben asked, curious as to what Rey thinks that the dreams that they just had meant. 

"I'm not sure, but it appears that the two of them wanted to speak to us, oh!" Rey responded, she felt her daughter kick lightly.

"Everything alright, Rey?" Ben asked. 

"Everything is fine, Ben, I guess our little bundle of joy is awake." Rey replied. 

"It's alright, Kira, we're on our way home." Ben said as he caressed Rey's belly with love. 

"Ben?" 

"Yes, Rey?" He responded. 

"I want to see her again." Rey said as she placed her hand over Ben's, a warm feeling radiated from her abdomen and the connection between the three of them reopened. "There she is, Ben. She's so precious." Rey said as she sat there holding and admiring her daughter, still in disbelief that she was actually going to have a baby, she had always wanted a family and now she was finally going to have one. Ben's eyes began to water slightly, he was so happy that the Force had blessed Rey and himself with a beautiful baby girl. "I wish that we could stay in this connection forever, Ben, I feel nothing but love and peace when we're here." 

"Pretty soon we won't need to, soon she will be right here with us and you're going to make a great mother, Rey. I truly do believe that." Ben said, Rey moved her body up against his so that the two of them could hold their daughter together. 

Slowly, the connection began to fade but not before Rey could give her daughter a kiss on her little forehead; "We love you, Kira." Rey said.

As the connection ended, once more, a feeling of warmth and love resonated throughout Rey and Ben's bodies, Ben was becoming more whole, if Rey hadn't known better, she would have thought that he was 100% _alive_ , but he wasn't, not yet at least. The two of them got up from their bed and headed towards the cockpit, they were surprised to find that they were already halfway to Naboo. 

"Ben, I wanted to ask you something. Why did you pick me as the person that you wanted to be with, you could have had anyone you wanted but you chose the lonely _scavenger_ from _Jakku_?" Rey asked, genuinely curious about Ben's decision of choosing her as the one that he wanted to be with. 

"I can't fully describe it, Rey, something just felt right about you. You made me feel something special, it may have been our bond but I feel that it may have been something more, I know that you led a sad life up until this point, Jakku must have been incredibly harsh, not knowing if you would ever get off that planet, a life of solitude and sadness, you craved belonging and family." Ben responded. 

"You're absolutely right, Ben. All my life I longed for my family to return to me, but in my heart I knew that they never would, they got rid of me." The thought of her abandonment by her parents made Rey cry. 

"I'm so sorry, Rey." Ben replied. 

"It's alright, Ben. Although I occasionally am still sad about being abandoned by my parents, I know that everything is going to be fine from now on, the Force brought us together and it has kept us together even after you sacrificed yourself for me." Rey responded, reminiscing of her sad past. Ben pulled her close to him with his arms, the warmth of her body resonated throughout his ghostly form and when they touched, his form became completely solid, Rey couldn't believe it, he was completely _solid_ , his flesh had been completely restored; "Ben... you're _alive_!" Rey shouted with joy. 

She kissed him just as she had so many times before but this time it felt different, as he was actually there with her, their bond had grown even more powerful. As she pulled away, Ben's form reverted back to its original slightly transparent state, Rey cried a single tear, Ben had not been brought back to life completely just yet, but she knew that he would be soon. She knew that the powers of the Force were definitely at work here. 


	14. In Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey finally land on Naboo, Rey gives the Skywalker lightsabers a proper burial, she also has a small surprise for Ben, something that she knows is special to him.

"Is something wrong, Rey?" Ben asked, he had just seen her cry a single tear, he wondered what it could have been that was bothering her. He reached his hands out to embrace her in a hug. 

"It's just that for the moment that we touched just now, you were completely alive, the transparency of your form had faded completely. But I guess it's not time for you to return fully just yet." She said as she accepted his hug and embrace.

"This is going to work, Rey, I just have a feeling that it's going to, after all that we've been through. This is going to work." He replied, he was certain that the Force was going to keep them together and that his life force would be fully restored soon.

"I don't have any doubt that it will work, Ben. I just wish that it would happen already, I want the satisfaction of knowing that you're alive and healthy." She responded, she knew that he would return to life soon, but she didn't enjoy waiting, even though her entire life she had known about waiting, this was different, she was robbed of her one true moment of happiness back on Exegol. 

The two of them sat down in the cockpit of the Falcon, Rey sat in the pilot's seat while Ben sat in the copilot's seat. Rey deactivated the autopilot and put the ship back to manual operation; "ready for the jump to lightspeed, Ben?" She asked as she pulled the switch and the Millennium Falcon took the jump to hyperspace. 

"Always." He replied.

Moments later, she flipped the switch to take the Falcon out of hyperspace, when she did, she saw it; the planet _Naboo_. _It's even more beautiful in person…_ she said to herself, taking in the beauty of the planet, she was used to desert and sand, seeing a planet surrounded by water and greenery always managed to take her breath away. 

"It really is, I've only been here one other time as a child with my mother, when she brought me here so that we could pay respects to my grandmother." Ben said. He had missed being able to visit planets for the sake of enjoyment, usually it was to conquer them, but having defected from the First Order, he was free to do as he pleased. 

They had just entered the atmosphere of Naboo, within moments they were ready to land. Rey saw the fields from her dreams; her vision, she knew that this was going to be the spot where they land. The landing gear to the Falcon deployed and the engines slowed. "Are you ready for this, Ben? Our new home." She asked. 

"Yes" he replied, smiling at her. Minutes later, the Falcon had landed, before long, the two of them were walking down the ramp together, Rey was holding her satchel. 

"What's inside your bag, Rey?" He asked, curious to know what Rey had brought along with her. 

"The lightsabers that belonged to Leia, Luke and your grandfather." She replied, she had taken all three sabers with the intention of giving them a proper burial spot. 

"Wait, I thought that you had buried them on Tattooine?" He asked, confused at how she had gotten the sabers back and more importantly why she brought them with her. 

"I did bury them on Tattooine but that was because I really didn't have a use for them after the final battle on Exegol, it was a moment of desperation, I had just lost you and I didn't know what I was going to do next." She responded, explaining to him why she had buried the lightsabers before and why she had dug them back up. 

She began digging a small hole in the ground, wrapping the sabers in a small cloth and placing them in the hole, she then began to pile the dirt back onto the hole that she had made. She had shed a few tears as she buried the lightsabers, Leia had been like a mother to her, a mother who wouldn't have abandoned her and Luke had been her teacher, although she had not known Anakin, she knew that he was their father and Ben's grandfather.

Ben sat there next to her, she had just finished burying the lightsabers, there was a calm breeze over the field, the two of them sat there taking in the moment, almost as if it were a moment of silence in remembrance of the Skywalker family. 

As they continued sitting there, Rey reached into her satchel and pulled out something, something that she knew was very important to Ben. "Ben, before your mother died, she gave me something that she knew was special to you, she told me that you used to play with them as a child, I want you to have them back." She said as she opened her hand and placed the objects in his hand, they were none other than his father's lucky dice! He couldn't believe it, the very same dice that he had played with as a child, in essence, they were his favorite toy. They had reminded him so much of his father, whom he had missed dearly, he wrapped his arms around Rey and hugged her tightly and showered her with kisses.

"Thank you, Rey, thank you so much." He said as he cried into her shoulder. 

"You're welcome, Ben. I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to return them to you." She said as she smiled. 

"You always bring me joy, Rey. I love you more than anything in the entire galaxy." He replied as he proceeded to kiss her on the cheek. 


	15. A Mother's Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia's ghost appears to Ben and Rey, revealing more about what actually happened to Ben and how she was the one who saved him.

"I love you too, Ben." She responded as she hugged him once more, his form became solid, but then slowly became transparent again, but it was less transparent than before. "It's almost time, Ben." She said as she smiled at him. 

"Time for what?" He asked, he didn't know if she was referring to him coming back to life or that the baby was coming. 

"Time for you to come back to life, something happened when I hugged you, you turned solid again, and then you faded back to being transparent, but you're more solid than you were before." She responded, she knew that he would be alive again soon, but as he would return to life, she knew what else was coming, the birth of her daughter, her sweet baby girl; _Kira_ . 

As Ben and Rey continued sitting together in the field, watching the sunset, a mysterious blue glowing stream of light manifests itself next to them, changing into the figure of Leia Organa . Her clothes were identical to the ones that she had worn prior to her death on Ajan Kloss . 

"Hello Ben, Rey" she said. 

"Hi mom, what are you doing here?" Ben asked, surprised to see his mother again and as a ghost no less. 

"I'm here to check on the three of you, making sure that everything is going fine, how are you feeling, Rey?" She asked. 

"I'm feeling alright actually. I'm tired most of the time but I'm happy that I have Ben here to assist me if I need help." Rey replied, she was happy to see Leia again, she had so much to catch up on with her. 

"That's good to hear, have you had any aches or pains, Rey?" Leia asked. 

"Only when she kicks, but other than that, no, not really." Rey responded. 

"Good, and the baby is a girl?" Leia asked. 

"Yes, she is, her name is Kira." Rey replied. 

"Good choice for a name, who was it that got to name her?" Leia asked, curious as to who it was that named her granddaughter. 

"Surprisingly, it was Ben who decided to name her that." Rey responded. 

"You two must be thrilled that you're going to become parents soon." Leia said, she was so happy for her son and Rey. 

"We definitely are, I've had a very rough life prior to this; living 19 years of my life on Jakku , 14 of those years spent completely on my own. I almost ended up that way again after the war ended, I stayed on Tattooine for several months, just isolating myself from everyone and everything, with only BB-8 to keep me company. Of course Ben visited me not long after I started living there and before long I was blessed with this little angel that I'm carrying now. She's the greatest gift I've ever received, all my life I longed for my family, hoped that they would return, but they never did, so I'm very thankful that Ben did." Rey said as she told Leia about her past on Jakku and how she was so thankful for all that had happened after Ben returned to her when she chose to isolate herself again. 

"Sounds like you've been through quite a lot, Rey. I'm so happy for you and Ben, I know that you'll make great parents." Leia said, smiling at the two of them. 

"Leia, I've been wanting to ask you something for some time now, I had talked with Maz about it but I never got a true definitive answer. What exactly happened to Ben, why was he able to return to me, why is it that I was able to become pregnant with his child and most of all, why is his form constantly changing?" Rey asked.

"Rey, what happened to Ben is that he gave the last of his life force to you so that you could live, he was able to return to you due to the fact that part of him lives inside of you, this is also the reason why you were able to become pregnant despite him not being there in the physical sense. Ben's spirit is trapped inside a place called the _World Between Worlds,_ which is where he was transported upon death, but as he died I saved him, enabling him to return to you, I knew how much he loved you and I felt that it was my duty as a mother to save my son. Even at the cost of my own life. The reason why his form is changing is, as your daughter grows, the healing power of your bond, combined with her power is slowly restoring his life force." Leia responded. 

Both Ben and Rey are surprised to learn what actually happened after Ben had died, Ben remembered nothing other than returning to Rey, he had no recollection of being transported to the World Between Worlds or even being saved by his mother. "It's all a blur to me, mom, all I remember is an endless void of darkness." He said, he had no recollection of being saved by his mother after vanishing on Exegol. 

"That endless void of darkness was the World Between Worlds, Ben, I tried all in my power to prevent you from crossing over fully into the Force. I felt that you deserved to live the life that you never had the chance to." Leia replied. 

"Mom, I can't thank you enough. I thought for sure that everything was over for me after I had revived Rey, I felt myself slipping from consciousness after I had brought her back to life, I felt that her life was worth more than my own, I was so terrified of losing her." He said as Leia accepted him with open arms and the two of them hugged. 

"I just did what I felt was right, Ben, after all that you had been through, I sent you away as a child and I wanted to make things right. I'm your mother and I love you." Leia said. 

"I love you too, mom. I miss you so much." He said as tears fell from his eyes, even throughout all that had happened and being told all his life that he wasn't loved, he never stopped loving his parents. 

"I know you do, Ben. You know that I will always be with you, watching over you and your family." Leia responded, reassuring Ben that she would always be with him and would watch over him as well as Rey and their daughter. 


	16. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey finally get a moment of true intimacy, shortly afterwards, Ben falls asleep and dreams of his guardian angel whom had watched over him as a child.

Within moments, Leia's ghost vanished from sight and the suns had finally set on Naboo, Ben and Rey just sat there looking up at the stars, thinking about all they had been through, their lives alone before they met, and then how they had finally come together after so long. Before long, the two of them began to lie down on the grass, Rey was so happy to be on a planet that wasn't surrounded by desert, she had lived her entire life in the sweltering heat, never thinking that she would go anywhere beyond Jakku. Thankfully, Naboo was no such place, where Jakku was a barren and dead world, Naboo was alive and thriving, with greenery and life.

"Rey?" 

"Yes, Ben?" She responded.

"I've been thinking about something, why did the Force choose the two of us as the dyad?" He asked, wondering why of all the people in the galaxy that the Force would choose Rey as well as himself. She pondered about it, thinking of what it could possibly mean and why the power of the dyad was so powerful, as if it were the Force itself personified.

"Honestly, Ben, I'm not entirely sure why the Force chose us, but I will say that I'm happy that it did. Living a life on Jakku by myself was torturesome at times, I hardly ever had anything to eat and would normally have little to no credits at all." She responded as she sighed. 

"You don't have to worry about that ever again, Rey, I'm here for you now and I always will be." He said as he gently pulled her into his arms, as he pulled her into his arms, that familiar feeling of warmth rushed through both of them and for a split second he came back completely before fading back to his previous state. 

"Ben?" Rey said as a tear dropped from her eye. 

"I know, Rey." He replied, he knew exactly why she had started to tear up a little, she wanted him alive and well next to her. She looked into his eyes with a sense of love, as if she were staring into his soul, she then began to bring his lips to her own and she engaged him in a long, passionate kiss, just as the two of them had so many times before. 

As she pulled away she noticed that he was smiling at her like he never had before, the look on his face was nothing but pure joy, he was so happy to be with her. 

"I love you, Rey. I love you so much." He said as he locked eyes with her. 

"I love you too, Ben." She said as she stared back at him, smiling.

He began to run his fingers through her hair, although he had found her buns to be cute, he was completely enamored with how she looked with her hair down. Likewise, Rey herself ran her fingers through his dark, flowing hair. It wasn't long before the feelings and emotions of love overcame the two of them. 

"Are you ready, Rey?" He asked. 

"More than I have ever been." She responded.

The two of them proceeded to make sweet, passionate love to each other, she had been wanting to have intercourse with him for several months now, her sexual drive had gone through the roof after she had gotten pregnant, but they had been so busy during that time that they never really had the chance; their daughter needing to be comforted through the bond quite often, as well as the lack of privacy that they had during their time at the Resistance base. Now that they were finally home, they were free to do what they wanted. 

Once they had finished, the two of them just stayed still, lying down, gazing into each other's eyes, feeling the warmth of their bond coursing through both of them. 

Every time they had touched from that moment on, he would become whole again, before reverting back to his previous state. Their bond was growing stronger than they had ever imagined. 

Not long after they finished making love, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms underneath the stars on Naboo. 

Around the middle of the night, Ben awoke and picked Rey up and took her back to the Falcon , gently resting her on the bed, being extremely careful not to disturb her sleep.

Moments later, Ben fell asleep next to Rey. It wasn't long before he began dreaming, in the dream he saw a woman who looked vaguely familiar to him, she was wearing a blue dress and was surrounded by glowing blue butterflies. 

"Hello, Ben." She spoke. 

"Who are you?" He asked, he had seen her somewhere before but he couldn't quite remember where, nor could he remember her name.

"My name is _Padmé Amidala_ , I am your grandmother. It is nice to finally meet you, Ben." 

" _Grandmother_?!" He said, surprised. The memories came flashing back to him when Padmé mentioned that she was his grandmother. 

She approached him with open arms, he moved towards her and embraced her hug. "I'm so sorry that I was unable to protect you, Ben. I tried all in my power to keep you safe, but unfortunately it wasn't enough." She said, apologizing to him for failing to protect him. He didn't know how to respond. 

"Know that you are loved, Ben, all those lies that you were told throughout your life that your family didn't love you, none of them were true." She said. 

Tears began to run down his face, to which Padmé responded by hugging her only grandchild. Throughout all his life, while he had heard the evil voice of Emperor Palpatine in his head, a woman would appear to him every so often, she wouldn't speak but she would always be watching him, this woman was his guardian angel, as well as his own grandmother, in death, Padmé made it a goal to watch over her family, but due to her soul being trapped inside the World Between Worlds it was impossible for her to communicate with them. 

"I've watched you from the World Between Worlds, Ben, my soul has been trapped here ever since I had passed on." She said. 

"So you're the woman who would appear to me from time to time when I was a child?" He asked, wondering if she was indeed the woman that had appeared to him many times throughout his life. 

"Yes, Ben. I am the one who appeared to you all those years ago, you remind me so much of my dear Ani." She had responded. 

" _Ani_? Who's Ani?" He asked, puzzled. 

"My husband and your grandfather; _Anakin Skywalker_. The one that I've longed to be with, but unfortunately it looks like it wasn't meant to be, he's one with the Force and I'm trapped here." She responded. 

"Is there something that I could do to help you, grandmother? There's got to be something." He said.

"The girl; _Rey_ did speak of doing something to help me, I didn't think too much of it honestly." 

"You spoke with Rey?" He asked.

"Yes, we talked briefly, mostly about how we had both felt about the fact that you had died for her and how you had returned to her thanks to the power of your bond that transcends time and space." She responded. He was surprised to learn that she had spoken to Rey already. 

"She also informed me that she was pregnant, I'm so happy for the two of you. I want to congratulate you, Ben, on becoming a father. I know that you'll take care of your family and love them with every shred of your being." She said. 

"Thank you, I spoke with grandfather previously and he told me that he wanted to be reunited with you more than anything, and I believe that it is possible. One way or another I will see to it that the both of you are reunited at some point." He responded, assuring her that he would find a way to reunite her with Anakin. 

"You would do that for me? Thank you, thank you, Ben." She responded. She was very happy to hear that not only did Ben speak with Anakin, but that Anakin wanted to be reunited with her.


	17. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey reaches the second trimester of her pregnancy, experiencing the symptoms that come along with it as a result, she wants to plan for the arrival of her daughter as soon as possible.

Even though it had felt like an eternity for her, Rey was only around 5 months pregnant, but as she was so tiny beforehand she had begun showing almost immediately, she was so happy to finally be rid of the morning sickness that she had to deal with for the first few months, her mood swings had finally subsided as well. Being able to see and hold her daughter within the bond that they have made her happier than she had ever been before, Kira was hers, she had longed for a family all her life, she was finally going to get her wish, in a way that she had never would have expected. She vowed to herself that once her daughter was born that she would show her the love that her parents had never shown her, she didn't even want to think of her daughter suffering the same fate that she had, a fate that she wouldn't even wish on her worst enemy, a fate of isolation, abandonment and loneliness. 

As her pregnancy progressed, she started to feel more and more tired, she also started to feel aches in her lower abdomen as her belly continued to grow to accompany her expanding uterus. As a result of this, she began to develop minor heartburn and shortness of breath. 

Rey knew that she had to get ready for the arrival of her daughter, even though she still had 4 more months to go, she wanted to be prepared for the day that her little angel is brought into the world. 

Rey decided to get up from their bed on the Falcon, she got dressed and decided to take a walk around outside, just taking in the beauty of Naboo, it was so full of life, no sign of desert sand in sight, all the while she felt slight kicks from her baby, she brought her hand to her belly, feeling the surge of the bond that she shared with her daughter, that familiar warmth that she knew so well. 

Surprisingly enough, Rey's emotions had finally began to go back to normal, the added stress that she had felt during her stay at the Resistance base had all but diminished completely. She was feeling absolute peace as she walked around the area, thinking about how she plans to come to this area often once her daughter is born to admire the scenery, Takodana may have been beautiful, but Naboo was absolutely breathtaking. 

_I can't wait until I can hold you in my arms and show you the love and care that you deserve, my sweet little girl._ Rey said to her unborn child through the Force. 

Meanwhile, back on the Falcon, Ben is still sound asleep, dreaming. Continuing his conversation with his grandmother; Padmé Amidala. 

"Yes, grandmother. I want to help you." He said. 

"But can it really be done, Ben?" She asked, wondering if it was truly possible for her to be reunited with Anakin again. 

"I believe that it can be done, as to how, I'm not sure. But for some reason I'm slowly coming back to life thanks to the power of my daughter that Rey is carrying. Perhaps that her power could enable you and grandfather to be reunited." Ben responded. 

"I suppose that could be possible, but we'll have to wait and see what happens once she is born. Take good care of my great granddaughter, Ben." She said as the dream ended and Ben awoke on the Falcon. 

Ben looked to the other side of the bed, he was surprised to find that Rey was gone. _She didn't leave me, did she? No, she couldn't, she wouldn't._ Ben thought to himself, he knew that she wouldn't leave him, but that little bit of doubt was still in the back of his head, he was after all, manipulated his entire life by Emperor Palpatine. 

He got up from the bed on the Falcon and walked outside to see if he could find her, it wasn't long until he found her standing in a field, smiling. She was admiring the scenery and taking in the fresh air. 

Ben came up from behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder, it made Rey jump at first, Ben's sudden arrival startled her. 

"I'm sorry, Rey, I didn't scare you, did I?" Ben asked. 

"Maybe a little bit, but it's nothing too big. Did you sleep well?" She asked. 

"Yes, I slept better than I have in a long time. How come you decided to come outside, why didn't you wait for me?" He asked her, wondering why she didn't wait for him. 

"I wanted to get some fresh air, I've been experiencing heartburn and shortness of breath lately." She responded.

"Is everything alright, Rey?" He asked, concerned about her health and well-being. 

"Well other than a few aches in my lower abdomen, and the other two things that I just mentioned, I would say that I'm doing ok. Although I have been feeling more and more tired lately, but I'm sure that's probably to be expected when I'm _5 months pregnant_." She responded, explaining to Ben what has been happening now that she had reached the second trimester in her pregnancy. 

"You're _5 months pregnant_?" He asked, surprised to learn that it had really been almost half a year since he had returned to her. 

"Yup, 5 months. But it feels like it has been even longer than that, maybe because I'm just so ready for her to be with us." She responded. 

"Have you thought about preparing for her arrival, I mean, just because you're 5 months along, doesn't mean that she couldn't come sooner?" He asked, curious as to whether she had set up plans to prepare for the arrival of their daughter. 

"I have thought about preparing for her birth, Ben, do you know if there are any hospitals or medical bays around anywhere close?" She asked. 

"Well, I don't know of any on Naboo, but I do know of one on Coruscant." He replied. 

"I suppose we should go to that one then." She said. 


	18. The Power of the Dyad Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey reveals to Ben that she may need to see a doctor soon, a Jedi from the past visits the two of them and reveals some much needed information.

Throughout all that had happened since the war ended, Rey had not seen a doctor once, nor had she received any kind of medical treatment since the day that she had left to begin a new life on _Tattooine_. Although she was positive that she was in good health, she wanted to make sure that everything was fine with her baby, although she was able to sense her through the Force, she wanted to be sure. Having not gone for a prenatal check up throughout her entire pregnancy up until this point, Rey knew that she would have to at some point, after all, being 5 months pregnant, she was a little more than halfway through her term. 

"Ben" 

"Yes, Rey?" He responded. "Ben, I think I might need to see a doctor sooner than later." Rey replied.

"What's wrong, Rey, are you alright, is the baby alright?" Ben asked, trying not to panic at the thought of the possibility of there being something wrong with Rey or their baby. If something were to happen to either of them, he would feel responsible, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Yes, Ben, I'm alright and she is too." Rey said.

"It's just that I want to make sure that I'm doing all the right things, eating the right foods and above all, I want to make sure that our little girl is healthy." Rey said as she continued. 

Ben let out a sigh of relief; "You seem to be doing everything properly, Rey. Despite the fact that you're carrying a child, you manage to make the things that you do look easy." He said. He truly admired Rey and her determination and persistence. 

Rey laughed a little, she wouldn't call what she was going through exactly 'easy', after all, she felt tired most of the time and her abdominal pains were becoming more and more frequent. Certain days she wondered if she would be able to get through it as some times the pain would be almost excruciating, only once did she question whether it would all be worth it in the end, but her longing for a family was stronger than the pain, she would go through anything to hold her daughter in her arms. She had dreamt all her life of being with a family, in some dreams it was her parents, but after she had met _Ben_ , she began dreaming of a family of her own. The vision that she had seen when herself and Ben touched hands through the Force was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. 

"Well I wouldn't exactly call them 'easy', Ben. Carrying a baby is a lot harder than you would think." Rey said. 

"You're right, I probably wouldn't know what it's like..." Ben replied.

"Plus, I'd like to see if I can get some medication to help me with the heartburn that I'm experiencing almost on a daily basis. I've been having some pain in my lower abdomen lately as well due to my uterus expanding." 

Just as Rey had finished speaking, Ben noticed a small glowing figure with a blue hue materializing in front of the both of them. The figure stood just over 2 feet tall, it had green skin and it was carrying a cane. This figure that was materializing in front of them was none other than _Jedi Master Yoda._

Yoda approached both Ben and Rey, slowly. Before finally sitting down on a rock next to the both of them. "Greetings, young Skywalker, or should I say _Skywalkers_?" Yoda said. 

"Who are you?" Rey asked, although she had had the help of all the Jedi during her battle against the Emperor, she had no idea who exactly each of them were. 

" _Yoda_ , my name is." He replied. 

"The great Jedi master that I had heard of during my training with Luke?" Rey asked. 

"Yes." Yoda replied. 

"Why is it that you are here, _Yoda_?" Rey asked, wondering why Yoda had decided to appear to herself and Ben.

"Important news for you, I have." He replied. 

"What kind of news?" Rey asked. 

"News that concerns your daughter, the next Skywalker." Yoda responded. 

"My little girl?" Rey asked as she placed her hand on her belly. 

"Your daughter, yes." Yoda replied. 

Rey's stomach dropped, she tried to remain optimistic about what Yoda was going to tell her about her daughter but at the same time the thoughts of all the terrible things that could happen from what she had known of what happened to Ben when he was inside Leia's womb bothered her. 

"Tell me, please." Rey said. She was prepared for anything, even the worst; that someone or something was manipulating or possibly even hurting her little girl. 

"As I'm sure that you are aware, Ben Solo and yourself are part of a Force Dyad, meaning that you share the same soul and are forever connected, not even his death could sever the connection. For as long as you live, he cannot truly die. Your daughter being created through the life force of the bond that the two of you share yields power unlike anything before, for she is the direct result of the two of you coming together." Yoda responded. 

"What kind of power does she possess? I know that she is partially responsible for Ben's life force slowly returning, but what kind of power is this, is it light, is it dark? I know that she's part Palpatine so she likely has the same powers that he possessed." Rey asked, curious as to what kind of power her unborn child truly possesses. 

"The power to restore one's life force in such a manner is not of the light nor is it of the dark side of the Force, but it is the power of the Force itself, neutral it is." Yoda responded, revealing the true nature of the power of the Dyad as well as Rey and Ben's daughter. 

Rey was in a state of disbelief, she was unaware of just how powerful the Force Dyad was, but it was true, by virtue of the Dyad itself, herself and Ben were the most powerful force users in history, but their daughter would exceed even that, their daughter who was created through the bond that they share.


	19. Uncertain Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a dream of an unresponsive Padmé who appears to be sadder than usual. Meanwhile, Ben is having a dream in which he see his daughter laying a rose on a grave, whose grave it is will absolutely devastate him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, this chapter is not like the others, it's dark and sad. :( But I promise, the happy ending is still coming. :)

"Thank you for giving us this information, master Yoda." Rey said. 

"Welcome you are, may the Force be with you." Yoda said as he vanished back into the Force. 

That night, Rey and Ben lay beside each other in their bed on the Falcon, thinking about the little girl that they would soon be welcoming into the world. Rey was surprised to learn that her unborn daughter was pure of the Force, not the light, nor the dark side. She could feel Kira moving around inside her, as she placed her hand on her belly once more she heard a voice through the Force; _"Mommy!"_ the voice sounded like that of a young child, more specifically a little girl. 

"Did you hear that, Ben?" Rey asked, she couldn't believe it. 

"I sure did, it was our little girl." Ben said as he gently pulled Rey closer to him. She was beginning to feel tired, struggling to keep her eyes open. 

"It's alright if you want to sleep, Rey, I'll be right here beside you." Ben said as the two of them hugged each other and fell asleep in each other's arms. 

Rey began to start dreaming, this time she was inside the World Between Worlds, and before her stood Padmé once more, with a sad look on her face. Rey reached out to her, but she didn't accept this time. 

"Is something wrong, Padmé?" Rey asked, puzzled as to what was upsetting Padmé, before it was the loss of Ben, but she looked more distressed this time, she was crying. 

"Oh, hello Rey...." Padmé replied, not revealing what it is that is bothering her. "I can tell that there is something wrong, please let me help you." Rey said. 

Padmé turned her back to Rey. "You're stronger than me, Rey. You have to be. Hold on for the sake of your family; your daughter, and Ben." Padmé said as the dream ended. 

Meanwhile, Ben himself was dreaming, he searched around the area, until he came upon a little girl all dressed in black, placing a rose on a gravestone. "I'm so sorry, mommy, I didn't mean for this to happen." She said as she cried to herself. Ben stood behind her, "who are you and whose grave is that?" Ben asked the little girl, who turned around. He knew exactly who she was the moment that he saw her eyes, they matched his and he recognized her hairstyle, it was identical to Rey's. 

"I'm sorry, daddy. Why did this happen to mommy, why?" The little girl asked as she cried once more. Ben pulled her close to him, this was his daughter; _Kira_ , as a small child, no more than the age of 5. "What happened to mommy? When did this happen?" He asked. 

"She died after I was born, it's my fault that she's gone." Kira replied as she cried. Ben couldn't hold back the tears, his worst fear had come true, Rey had died in childbirth, but Kira survived. She blames herself for her mother's death. "Don't say that, Kira. It wasn't your fault, mommy loves you and so do I." Ben said to her, trying to make her feel better, she hugged him in return. 

"I love you, daddy." Kira said as she hugged Ben and then the dream ended. 

Ben awoke in a sweat, it was thankfully all just a dream, but it had felt so real, it was as if he was actually speaking with his daughter, but she was still just a baby, safe inside her mother's womb, how was it that she appeared to him as a small child? Ben thought to himself. 

Rey awoke on the other side of the bed. 

"Is everything alright, Ben?" Rey asked, wondering why Ben was sweating so badly. 

"I had a terrible nightmare, Rey, where you...." Ben swallowed hard. "You died in childbirth." He said as tears dropped from his eyes.

Rey moved closer to him, caressing the side of his face. "Ben, I'm right here, alive and healthy. Everything is going to be fine." Rey said to him as she took his hand, feeling the warmth of his palm against her own. Ben could tell that something was troubling Rey as they looked in each other's eyes. 

"Is everything alright, Rey? You seem nervous." Ben asked. 

"Ben, I had a dream. I was in the World Between Worlds and Padmé was there, but for whatever reason she didn't want to speak to me. She told me to hold on for Kira and for you." Rey said. 

"It's alright, sweetheart. Padmé probably just wants you to be safe and not have a repeat of what happened to her, she died shortly after giving birth to my mom and uncle Luke. I promise that I will not let the same happen to you. You and Kira will be fine." Ben said as he hugged Rey. 

"I love you, Ben. Oh!" Rey said as she felt Kira kick, Rey placed her hand on her belly; "it's ok Kira, mommy's going to be fine." 

"I promise, Rey, I will not allow anything to ever happen to you again and our little girl shall live the happiest of lives, along with her mother and father. I'm not going to lose you, not like I almost did on Exegol." Ben said as he put his hand on Rey's pregnant belly, the two of them calming their daughter down together, as something was indeed bothering her; the thought of losing her mother. 


	20. Fatigued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira's fear has begun to manifest itself as Rey feeling immense fatigue.

Several weeks have passed, Rey has entered her sixth month of pregnancy, unfortunately, Kira's fear of losing her mother has begun to take a toll on Rey's health, although Ben and herself have tried to calm her down, that fear remains. 

"Mommy, please don't go anywhere" a voice said through the Force. "There's nothing to worry about, Kira, mommy is going to be ok." Rey responded, her heart was aching for her little girl. 

"Ben, I'm not feeling well. I think I might be sick..." Rey said as she walked over towards the bed on the Falcon, clutching her belly the entire way, she was feeling nauseous. 

"Ben, are you okay, your body keeps flickering?" Rey asked, concerned that Ben's form was changing again. 

"I'm not entirely sure what is happening, Rey. I feel less solid, I feel myself slowly beginning to fade." Ben responded. 

Rey had been feeling fatigued and far more tired than usual as of late, as a result she began to lose weight due to her lack of food intake, although she was reaching her sixth month of pregnancy, her belly had become smaller than it was when she was 5 months pregnant. Her poor baby wasn't getting enough nutrition due to the lack of food. 

Ben decided to make some rootleaf stew for Rey, just as he had before on Ajan Kloss. 

"Here, Rey, have some rootleaf stew." Ben said as he handed her the bowl. Rey took the bowl from Ben and tried her hardest to try to eat the stew, but the fatigue was so bad that she actually had trouble getting it down her throat. 

"Why do I feel this way, and why does my belly look like it has shrunk significantly?" Rey asked, she was concerned about the fact that her belly had shrunk so much, when it should have gotten bigger due to her baby growing. 

"It has shrunk, Rey, you haven't been eating enough food to allow Kira to grow. She needs that nutrition and so do you." Ben responded, he was worried about Rey's lack of eating lately, she was only taking a bite or two every now and then, whereas she had been eating seconds and thirds far more earlier on in her pregnancy. 

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Ben. I feel so tired, so weak..." Rey said, feeling heavily drained and fatigued, it felt almost as if she were back on Exegol after _Palpatine_ had drained Ben and herself. 

Seeing Rey in this state hurt Ben immensely, he couldn't let her suffer like this, she needed to eat, for herself and for their daughter. 

What Ben was about to do he was very unsure of what the exact outcome would be, but all that mattered to him was that Rey and their baby survives. Ben placed his hand on Rey's belly and channeled some of his life force into her, it took more life force than he had originally anticipated, but he was giving energy to more than just one life this time around. Ben would have been willing to give up all of his energy to save Rey and Kira. As he had channeled part of his life force into Rey, his form began to fade slightly. 

"Ben, Ben! Where are you going?!" Rey yelled out in fear that Ben was going to disappear again and this time for good. 

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart, I just couldn't stand by and watch you suffer like that. I'm not going to lose you, Rey, if I lost you, I don't know what I would do." 

With some of her energy restored, Rey tried to eat the rootleaf stew once more that Ben had made for her earlier, it was no longer hot, but it was still moderately warm. She was finally starting to feel a little better and as a result, so was Kira. Rey could sense her daughter being satisfied, she was finally getting the nutrition that she had needed for over a month, perhaps she may start growing again. Rey brought the bowl of stew to her lips once more and this time she was able to get all the liquid down, it wasn't absolutely effortless, but it was much easier than it had been before versus when she could barely get anything down. 

"Mommy!" Kira said happily through the Force, Rey was able to feel her daughter's happiness as a warm sensation in her belly, it felt so good to her, especially compared to the stress that she had been feeling prior, which had manifested itself as nausea and pain in her lower abdomen. 

A few hours passed, Rey has begun to notice that Ben has become slightly less transparent, Kira was finally getting the food that she needed and as a result, Ben's life force was slowly being restored once more.

"Daddy!" Kira called out through the Force, Ben walked over and sat beside Rey, placing his hand on her belly; "it's okay, Kira, daddy's here."

Kira was so happy to feel the warmth of her father's touch through the Force. In response to Ben's touch, she kicked so hard that Rey's hand was almost instinctively drawn to her belly. 

"I know that you love daddy, Kira, but could you please take it a little easier on mommy?" Rey asked after having felt Kira's hard kick.

Ben began to rub Rey's swollen tummy, offering her relief and a much needed massage. She was feeling the fatigue still, she knew that this was going to take some time to go away, but now that she had the strength to eat again, she at least had the satisfaction of knowing that her little girl would be alright. 


	21. A Kiss Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's health has improved since the past month, Rose has a surprise for Rey and Ben's baby. Rose plans a trip to Naboo to visit them. The First Order might just be still around.

Another month had passed by in Rey's pregnancy, she was now 7 months pregnant and feeling much, much better than she had before during the month prior. Her daughter; _Kira_ had begun to start growing again thanks to Rey getting the proper intake of food that she needed for herself and her baby.

Rey awoke in her bed on the Falcon, Ben had been taking care of her ever since she had been hit with the massive amount of fatigue that she had felt the month before. 

"Rise and shine, sweetheart" Ben said to her. 

"Good morning, Ben" she responded, smiling at him.

"How are you feeling today, Rey?" He asked, wondering if the food that he had been feeding her was helping her health. 

"I still feel a little tired, but other than that, I'm fine." She responded. 

"It's alright, you've had a rough month. By the way, Rose sent you a message on your communicator." Ben said. 

"She did? What was it about?" Rey asked. 

"She said that it has something to do with the baby, that she has something that you can use once she's born." 

Rey removed her bedsheets and tucked them back into place neatly. She sat back down on the bed and placed her hand on her belly; "how's my little girl doing today?" She asked. She felt a light kick from inside, which she took to mean that Kira was doing fine, and she was right, her daughter was very healthy. 

Rey picked up the communicator on her nightstand and turned it on to hear the message that Rose had sent earlier; "Hi, Rey. Hope you, Ben and your baby are doing well, I have a gift to give to you if you would like to stop by _Ajan Kloss_ some time soon, it's a crib, personalized and made for your baby. Hope to hear from you soon."

Rey turned off the communicator and placed it back on her nightstand. "So what was it that she has for us that has to do with Kira, Rey?" Ben asked. 

"She has a personalized crib ready to go for us whenever we need it." She responded.

"Oh, well that was very thoughtful of her to make something like that." Ben said. 

"Yes, to be totally honest." Rey sighed. "Ben, I really do want to go pick it up soon, but I really, really don't want to visit the Resistance, I'm still not happy with how our experience went while we were there." She responded. 

Ben pondered about what Rey had said regarding her wanting the crib soon, but not wanting to go to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss. "Would you like me to go pick it up for you, Rey?" He asked. 

"I would love it if you were to do that for me... wait, I've got a better idea, how about Rose comes here to Naboo? She could give me company and someone to talk to." Rey said as she proposed the idea of Rose coming to visit them and give her the crib. 

Ben sighed. "I didn't mean it like that, Ben. You know that you're my favorite person in the whole galaxy." Rey said as she cupped the side of Ben's face, giving him a little kiss. 

Ben smiled at her, "I know, Rey." Ben said as he hugged her, the warmth of her body against his transparent form caused him to feel normal, as if he were alive and there with her, but due to the strength of their bond, he might as well have been there for real.

"Even after all this time, I still can't believe that we're going to have a little girl." Ben said. 

"She's the greatest gift I have ever received, Ben, and I'm glad that you are her father. I wouldn't want it to be anyone else." Rey responded. 

"And I wouldn't want to be with anyone else other than you, Rey. I love you." Ben said. 

Rey recorded a message to send to Rose, informing her that it would be better if she came to Naboo, instead of her and Ben going to Ajan Kloss. 

Back on Ajan Kloss, Rose received Rey's message on her communicator; "Hi Rose, it's Rey. I've been thinking that maybe it would be a better idea if you brought the crib to Ben and myself on Naboo, I don't really feel comfortable with the idea of going back to the base just yet. Plus, I'm getting closer and closer to my due date. Hope you decide to join us, bye."

"Who was that?" Finn asked. 

"It was Rey, she wants me to come visit her on Naboo and bring her the crib that I made for her." Rose responded. 

"Well, are you going to go?" He asked.

"I think I'm going to, it will be like a little vacation from the Resistance, it's not like there's going to be another First Order uprising, right?" 

"I wish that were true, Poe and myself have been keeping a close eye on the radar and we've discovered several large ships not too far from where the Hosnian system once was. We think that they might be several First Order star destroyers. We don't think that they're from _Palpatine's_ fleet." Finn responded. 

"That would be a serious problem if they did turn out to be from the _Emperor's_ fleet, sure we were able to deal with them fairly easily on _Exegol_ , but that was only because they were dependent on the navigation tower." Rose said. 

Finn froze at the thought of even one of the ships from Exegol still being around in the galaxy, or even worse, that it could be making its way to Ajan Kloss. "If they did manage to make it off Exegol, we could have a serious problem on our hands." He responded. 

"Well, I suppose that I should get ready to make the trip to Naboo, Rey is probably wondering where I'm at right now." She said. 

"Would you like me to help you pack your things?" Finn asked. "I would appreciate that very much, Finn." Rose replied. 

Rose prepared her small spacecraft, Finn helping her pack everything that she needed. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, especially if Rey ends up having her baby while I'm there, she'll probably want me to stay for awhile." Rose said as she pulled Finn in for a hug. "But I promise that I'll come back." She said. 

"And I'll be waiting for you" Finn said as Rose and himself locked lips. The two of them said their goodbyes and Rose headed for the cockpit of her ship, once she got to the cockpit, she started the ship up and punched in the coordinates for Naboo.

Elsewhere in the unknown regions of the galaxy, a lone _Final Order Star Destroyer_ has emerged from the darkest depths of space...


	22. Unfinished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Hux has survived Pryde's near fatal blaster shot, his plot for revenge begins until he receives some surprising news and something happens between Ben and Rey.

_Where am I?_ He thought to himself, in the darkened room of the medical bay inside the massive Star Destroyer. The last thing that he could remember was being shot by _Allegiant General Pryde_ ; the scum that _Supreme Leader Kylo Ren_ had brought in to replace him, but he knew all along that it should be himself that should have been supreme leader of the _First Order_ , after all, he had been appointed by _Supreme Leader Snoke_ himself as the head general. He had known that it was indeed Kylo Ren who murdered Snoke, and not the _girl_ as Ren had led him to believe at first. He had seen the surveillance footage from the cameras that were onboard the _Supremacy_ before it had been destroyed.

General Hux was more than aware of his former leader's obsession with the scavenger girl, but what he was not aware of was what had happened to Ren on Exegol, how he had redeemed himself and then gave his life for her. 

A lone stormtrooper walked down the hallway from the main hangar and into the medical bay where General Hux had been resting ever since he had been thought to have been killed by General Pryde. 

"General Hux, you're _awake_?! _"_ The trooper asked, surprised to find that Hux had finally awoken from his coma. 

"Indeed, now if you don't mind, I have a score to settle with General Pryde _."_ Hux scoffed. 

The trooper stopped him before he could continue; _"_ sir, there's something you should know." The trooper responded. Hux paused before speaking once more; 

_"_ and what is that?" 

_"_ Sir, General Pryde perished at The Battle of Exegol. Along with Palpatine, Ren and everyone else. The only ones left of the First Order are the soldiers that are aboard this ship." The trooper replied.

 _Ren, Palpatine, they're all gone?_ Hux thought to himself, he was shocked to learn that the First Order had indeed been destroyed save for one ship, a ship that had been from Palpatine's fleet, equipped with a cannon capable of destroying an entire planet. 

_"_ My men and I saved you after we had discovered that you were still alive aboard Ren's destroyer, wounded badly, but alive _."_ The trooper replied, revealing to Hux what happened after his supposed death. 

"Where is this destroyer headed?" Hux asked. 

"We are headed for _Dromund Kaas,_ sir." The stormtrooper replied.

Hux knew about Dromund Kaas; after all, that was the site of a former imperial base that was later converted into a base for the First Order, it was there that Darth Sidious had Snoke begin the process of creating the First Order from the ashes of the Galactic Empire. It was there that Hux himself had begun mapping out the plans for _Starkiller Base_. 

"That's the planet where the First Order began, where I had developed the technology for the weaponry and the mapping for the ultimate weapon; Starkiller Base." Hux replied. 

Inside the wreckage of the crashed imperial walker, Rey had awoken, she was no longer on the Falcon, she was back in the sweltering desert of Jakku. Feeling the hot desert sun on her skin was a feeling that she had known all too well. She was back in her scavenger clothes and no longer pregnant. _Where's Ben, where's Kira? Was it all just a dream, did I never really leave Jakku?_ She thought to herself. 

Through the heat, Rey scavenged through the wreckage of the crashed ships, until she reached one that looked very familiar; it was Ben's shuttle! 

Gazing at the wreckage, she entered through the door on the bottom of it until she reached the cockpit, where she saw him sitting there, but he didn't look the same, just as she looked like a scavenger once more, he too had reverted back to how he had looked when they first met. As she went to reach out to him he began to fade into a bright white light. 

In that instance, she awoke in her bed on the Falcon, it was indeed all a dream, but the white light appeared in front of her for real this time, tears began to run down her face, she knew that Ben was vanishing from this world, his time in this realm was ending and he was fading back into the World Between Worlds. 

As the light faded, a figure walked out of where it once was, it was _Ben_ , who approached Rey and hugged her tighter than he ever had before. She felt the warmth of his touch, no longer just a spectre that was capable of interaction, he was alive once more. 

"Ben….. you're." Shocked and overjoyed with tears falling from her eyes, she couldn't believe it, Ben's life force had been fully restored and he was actually there with her again. 

"I'm here, Rey. It's all going to be alright now." He said, smiling with tears in his eyes. He was just as shocked as she was to be alive. 

"You're alive." She said as she felt the warmth of his embrace, as well as the complete restoration of their bond. 

The two of them pulled away slowly from one another, before they both fell forward and touched foreheads, it made the both of them giggle. Seeing him laugh for the first time since Exegol made her heart flutter, because she knew that he was there for real this time and that he would never leave her again.

"I told you once before that you're not alone, Rey, and I meant every single word of it." He said as he kissed her forehead softly. "I'm here for you, sweetheart, now and _forever_." 

She was still crying; "and neither are you, Ben. We're both finally together again." She said as she just sat there and let him hold her in his gentle grip. 


End file.
